A Game of Trust
by ivory-sword
Summary: Aspen Tolvar is rounding on the last year of her contract with ARTIFACT, an organization that 'collects' special items. After that, she wants a normal life. Life has other plans for her, however, and so does SHIELD. Aspen has to learn what is worth fighting for and who is worth trusting whether it be a stoic archer, a charismatic trickster, or a gentle super soldier.
1. Part One: The Archer

**Author's Note: ****4/27/14 **A few weeks ago I had absolutely no intention of ever writing an Avengers fanfiction. Then I saw the second Captain America movie (before even having seen the first) and fell in love. And then watched the first one and fell even more in love. A year ago I hadn't ever seen a Marvel movie, but my best friend finally set me straight and showed me that superhero movies could indeed be really good. I was so excited about my fanfiction that I wrote 100 pages in a week. I don't claim to be a Marvel expert but I've researched this going off of the movies and the comics, so I hope you enjoy!

This story will have a bit of romance and a bit of adventure. Steve is going to play a big part in my story, but he doesn't appear until part three, so you'll have to be patient. I may or may not have already written more in part three than part two... I'm categorizing this as Avengers because that kind of eclipses all of the character's story lines, but it will start before and go after that movie. Anyway, I hope you enjoy!

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**Part One: The Archer**

**Prologue – June 2, 1994**

Joseph Danners wasn't a man who liked to get his hands dirty. Or his shoes. He stepped over the ashes of the incinerated lab with distaste as his polished black shoes turned grey with the remains of what could have been his greatest profit. Ava and Gregor Tolvar had been leading scientists in their field. They'd been creating something that could have taken biological warfare to the next level. He already had a buyer lined up before the lab and all the research and scientists had exploded into a million tiny pieces. Fires were still burning in places and everything that could have been worth something was a pile of ash.

"Sir, we found something!" He walked over to where one of his men was crouched. "It's a safe. It wasn't damaged in the fire."

"Well get it open!" Danners spat at him. His agent wired up detonators that would open the door, stepping back at the small explosion. He pulled out a manila folder which Danners snatched from him. It was rudimentary work. Mere scribbles that had nothing whatsoever to do with the serum he was after. "They knew we were coming," he said. "They took everything with them or destroyed it." He turned to his agent. "Have you found their bodies yet?"

"We're looking, sir, but it's impossible to tell. Everyone is…charred to a certain degree. It's impossible to identify anyone."

Danners was quickly losing patience. "Get me everything on the Tolvars! I want answers!"

"Sir," another man came up. "Records show that Ava and Gregor Tolvar took their three year old daughter to live with her aunt just days ago. The aunt disappeared with the little girl. We haven't been able to track her. It's like they knew we were coming."

"And how could they possibly know that?" He already knew the answer, but he didn't want it to be true.

"A spy on the inside?" the man asked.

"Find him or her," Danners said. "When I'm done with them they'll wish they never crossed me."

"Yes, sir. What of the daughter and aunt?"

"Find them. Whatever it takes. The aunt might have some of her sister's research."

"And the little girl?"

"She might have something we need too," Danners said. "If we're patient."


	2. Smuggler's Mission

**1 – Smuggler's Mission – May 28, 2011**

Aspen crouched in the shadow of a cargo container on the docks, keeping out of sight as five men loaded their goods onto a ship. The moon had risen over the bay and cast a sickly light over the docks and the black, nervously rocking water. Everything was about secrecy and timing. Aspen could blend into the background as if she were a shadow herself, but tonight really depended on her timing. It had to be just right. She had learned that lesson early on in her business. If you waited too long, the quarry would be gone, if you came out too soon, it could mean trouble. The men were wary; she could tell by the way they kept shifting their eyes around the dark docks, hastily loading the wooden crates onto the smugglers ship. She judged their strengths and weaknesses with a quick scan of her green eyes. Two of the men were armed with machine guns, pacing the perimeter of the loading dock, while the others loaded the crates. The two armed men were big. She could see their muscles even in the semi-darkness. They would be the ones she needed to worry about. The three loading the crates wouldn't be too much trouble. They'd focus on getting the goods onto the ship. There was only one item Aspen was interested in. It was in one of the cases that hadn't yet been loaded. Her scanner binoculars showed that it was in a case within the box, carefully cushioned by layers of packing material. This was her target tonight. Her mission.

Aspen crawled forward a pace, a plan forming in her mind. She needed to take down the two guards quickly before the others noticed. But it would be pretty obvious if they suddenly fell unconscious to the ground. She needed to lure them away from the loading dock. She looked around her on the ground until she found a sizable pebble of concrete. She tested its weight in her hand and then hurled it over the container she was hiding behind. It clattered to the ground somewhere on the other side. The guards froze.

"What was that?" one of them asked.

"Go check it out," the other said.

Aspen allowed herself a satisfied smile before slipping silently back along the container, trailing the guard who walked along the opposite side. She could hear his heavy footsteps and kept time with them. Her hand went to her belt, and she pulled out a dart gun. She never killed. That was her personal rule. Other smugglers would do anything to get their goods, but she clung to the last semblance of humanity she could find. She checked to see that the dart was loaded properly before waiting at the end of the cargo container. She heard the guard stop. She tensed, waiting to see if he needed any more prompting to come closer. He didn't as it turned out. He turned around the corner of the container so that they were only a few feet apart. Aspen waited; then she brought her arm around the corner and shot the dart into his neck. He collapsed, and she caught him before he hit the ground, groaning silently under his weight. Once his body was safely on the concrete, she relieved him of his gun and hat, tucking her hair up under the black cap. She left his body where it was. No use making noise trying to hide it. The gun she hid in the shadows a few feet away. She crept back around her corner and waited again. She had gauged how many crates still needed to be loaded and how long each would take to load as well as how long it would take the guard to come looking for his comrade. A minute later she could hear his footsteps. As he turned the corner, she shot a second dart. This time she hardly managed to catch the body, and his watch caught on the cargo container, ringing out loudly.

Aspen silently cursed, laying his body down next to the other guard. She hefted his machine gun and strode back to the docks. The men had stopped working and were looking nervously around. They caught sight of her from a distance, and she gave a firm nod. They went back to work. These lackeys didn't question much when their boss had a gun in hand, and the night hid her form. She watched as the other crates were loaded, keeping an eye on the last one. Her prize.

This wasn't her first mission, nor would it be her last. In years past, she would have been nervous about this. So much could go wrong. She could slip up and give her position away, they could load the crate before she had the chance to take what she was after, they could have more men aboard the ship… She was aware of their ring though. They worked in small groups, never more than five or six men. They smuggled at night, changing ports every new job, usually smuggling drugs but sometimes unusual artifacts found their way into the mix. The latter could be sold for a great deal to the right buyer.

They were down to the last two crates now. Aspen watched as two men lifted one while the other readied the last. This was her chance. Aspen set down the machine gun and stepped forward as the two men disappeared onto the ship and the third turned his back to her. A quick shot from her dart gun and the man slumped across the crate. Aspen acted quickly. She pushed the fallen man aside and pulled out a crowbar from where it had been strapped across her back. She pried the lid off of the crate and lifted out the black case. She replaced the top of the crate and melted into the shadows. She was halfway across the docks when she heard the two men start shouting. That was her cue to hurry. She sprinted to where she had left her transport, setting the case on the passenger seat of the black Audi. She pressed the engine start button and the car purred softly to life. She drove away from the docks without turning on her lights, letting the GPS system guide her until she was far enough away that she could risk the headlights. This had been an easy job. Not all of them were, but she always got what she came for. Get the job done no matter the danger and don't get caught. That was what they'd told her in training. She'd learned the latter the hard way and been left with a scar to remind her.

ARTIFACT was headquartered outside of Phoenix, Arizona in the desert. They had recruited her in 2007 shortly after she had turned 17. It hadn't been a difficult decision considering her parents had worked for ARTIFACT before their untimely deaths, and Aspen knew little to nothing about them. Her aunt had always refused to discuss them no matter how many times Aspen had begged and pleaded growing up. Leaving her aunt's house with the promise of learning more about her parents had been too good to pass up. Living with her alcoholic aunt had never been a happy memory, and Aspen was only too happy to move on despite her aunt's cryptic warnings about joining ARTIFACT. Despite never knowing her parents (they had died when she was only three), Aspen had inherited their scientific brains. She had graduated high school early at 16, but couldn't afford college. ARTIFACT had promised her a three-year contract and a free ride through any college in the country. She had three more months to go, and her future was her own. She would never have to take orders from anyone or knock someone unconscious with a dart or steal an artifact that had already been smuggled into the country. She would put that all behind her and live a normal life. That's all she wanted. A normal life. ARTIFACT had treated her well and her boss, Joseph Danners, had been like a second father to her, but Aspen wasn't blind; she knew what she did wasn't exactly legal. If the artifacts were already being smuggled and sold on the black market, then they were up for grabs according to ARTIFACT. It made some sense to Aspen even if she wasn't entirely comfortable with it. Danners always assured her that the artifacts would be in much better hands going to his private buyers than whatever dirty organization was stealing them. Her parents had been researchers at ARTIFACT, looking into the items brought in to see if they could figure out their function or power. If they had worked for the organization it couldn't be that bad, Aspen figured. Even still, the thought of going off to college and leaving her past far behind was what kept her going.

Aspen sighed. Right now she had an artifact to deliver. She needed to keep focused on the task at hand. It was a long drive nearing four hours when she reached the border of Arizona. ARTIFACT was headquartered just outside of Phoenix in an empty patch of desert no one ever went. Aspen had traveled all over the southwest part of the country over the last three years but there was always something nice about coming home even if she hated the desert.

When she finally reached Phoenix she took a back road into the desert until black wrought iron gates reared up before her. She slowed her car, rolling down her window and reaching out a hand to touch the handprint pad. It scanned her before opening the gates to let her through. She drove up the winding driveway until she reached the fortress. It had once been a factory but had been abandoned in the late 70s. Now it served as the headquarters for ARTIFACT. She parked in front of the building, shutting off the engine and lights and grabbing the black case. She was still wearing the guard's black hat, she realized. She pulled it off and flung it into the backseat before shaking out her red curls. She took after her mother her aunt had told her whenever she forgot herself and mentioned her sister. Red hair, light green eyes like a sun-beaten stalk of grass, a light spattering of freckles across her nose, a delicate heart-shaped face and a slender build. Aunt Vi had red hair too, but it wasn't the same shade, wasn't as beautiful as her sister's hair had been. She'd always been jealous of her sister. Ava Tolvar had been beautiful and smart and had succeeded in life where Vi never had. It'd made her bitter over the years, and when she had taken Aspen in at the age of three, she had made sure that Aspen shared in her bitterness. Aspen might have her mother's looks and her brains but right now none of that mattered. Instead of learning astrophysics and genetics in college like she'd wanted, she'd learned how to shoot a gun and how to cut off the oxygen in a person's windpipe until they lost consciousness. She'd learned how to steal and to infiltrate and to not get caught. Some life this was turning out to be. She hated to feel ungrateful when Danners had given her a chance, but sometimes she was jealous of the kids she'd gone to school with. They were off at college or job fairs while she delivered stolen goods at odd hours in the morning.

She entered the headquarters, using the same hand-scan system to gain access. Security was top priority here. ARTIFACT kept a lot of valuable goods on the premises while they waited to be examined and shipped off to a buyer. They were the notorious collectors of all things odd. They had moon rocks and asteroids as well as weapons supposedly forged by a higher life force. They had raw energy captured in cases and chunks of uncut iridium. Aspen didn't ask questions. It wasn't part of her job description, and as interested as she was in some of these artifacts, as much as she would have loved to study them, she knew that wasn't meant to be. She wasn't even sure what was in the case. Now it was her job to hand-deliver them to her boss so that he could inspect them. This part of the job always excited her because Danners often let her stay as he gave them the initial inspection whatever the objects might be. It was a fleeting but worthwhile chance for a short glimpse of what she'd risked her life for.

Aspen entered the elevator and pressed in the button bearing the number 8. She took a moment to shrug out the tension that had settled in her shoulders during the long drive while the elevator rumbled up. A ding sounded above her and the doors opened as she reached the 8th floor. She took the hall straight down to Danners's office and knocked.

"Come in," the familiar voice called out.

She pushed the doors open and entered the office. It was decorated in all manner of artifacts, all artfully arranged in glass cases as if it was a museum rather than a smuggler's trove. She didn't stare at the objects – she'd seem them all before – just walked toward the clear glass desk and the man sitting in the black executive's chair. She set the case down in front of him and waited. He didn't glance up right away from his iPad. Instead he flicked a finger across the screen, frowning at something she couldn't see. Then he set it down and turned to the case. A grey eyebrow arched as he opened it. He made an approving sound and pulled out two silver cuffs that looked as if they could fit on a slender wrist. Joseph Danners was a man who knew a lot about the extraordinary. He had founded ARTIFACT for the very purpose of collecting unusual items. He admired the cuffs for a moment before setting them down.

"Very lovely," he said. Then he looked up at Aspen, blue eyes glinting in excitement "Do you know what these are?" he asked. She shook her head. "These will stop a person from using any sort of ability they might possess whether a science experiment gone wrong or some natural talent they were born with. They make one utterly human." He stared at them for a moment, and Aspen thought he might have forgotten that she was there. "What a power." He looked up at Aspen finally. "Would you use such a power if you could take someone extraordinary and turn them into something ordinary?"

Aspen wasn't sure what sort of answer he was looking for. "I'm not sure, sir," she replied hesitantly. Danners got in these sorts of moods frequently. He was always wondering about the universe in ways she couldn't begin to imagine. "Depends on the power, I suppose. How the person might use it."

Danners gave her a thoughtful nod. "Well put. A power isn't dangerous in and of itself but rather the person who wields it. They are the ones with the choice to use it for better or for worse."

Aspen had come across a lot of strange things in her time with ARTIFACT including some science experiments gone wrong, but she had never met someone with super abilities. Even Iron Man was just a man in a metal suit. As far as she was concerned, such abilities didn't exist. Danners stood and put the cuffs in a glass case along the wall. "Good work, Aspen." He turned to look at her. "Your contract is up in a few months, is it not?"

Aspen nodded eagerly and then stopped not wanting to seem too excited to leave. Danners didn't seem to notice.

"Can it really have been three years already?" He ran a finger along the edge of the glass desk, frowning at the microscopic dust. "It seems just yesterday I was offering you the job. You've been a great asset to ARTIFACT. It came to my attention earlier today that I haven't told you much of anything about your parents. That was part of the promise I made you when I first hired you."

Aspen sat quietly. Danners had told her about her parents a little bit at a time over the last three years. He'd met them before he'd founded ARTIFACT when he'd been in the business of military armor. They'd worked with him on several projects, and he'd always praised their ingenious forward thinking. He'd laughed about the way Ava had always taken charge while Gregor was quieter, more of the thinker, the tinkerer. They'd made a good team, always eager to delve into the newest discovery in their branch of science. He said that Aspen was a mix of the two, quiet and thoughtful yet always eager to take action. Like her parents she had an innate sense of curiosity that often led her to unexpected discoveries.

"Sit down with me for a moment, Aspen," he said, motioning toward a modern-looking plastic chair in front of his desk. She sat down, folding her hands in her lap. "When you first started working for ARTIFACT, I wasn't sure you could handle the job," Danners said, sitting down at his desk. "You had just turned seventeen. Fresh out of high school with your own little ideas about the world. I took you under my wing, trained you to become something more. Despite everything though, you became one of my best agents. You showed skills in stealth and a common sense that keeps you calm in stressful situations. You never once killed on the job. Most of my agents won't hesitate. It's just collateral damage in a dog-eat-dog business but you," he pointed a finger at Aspen, "you didn't fall into that pattern. I want to know why."

Aspen stared out the window for a moment even though everything was dark. She thought she could see a tinge of color on the horizon. "I didn't lose sight of my humanity, sir," she said. "I didn't want to lose myself. I'm not a killer."

"No, you're not. It will be a shame to lose you. A real shame. But," he folded his hands, "I want to see you succeed in life outside of this business. I want to see you through whatever school of science you choose, to see you continue your parents' work and become the scientist I know they would have wanted you to become." Aspen waited for him to get to the point. "I've treated you well, have I not? Taken care of you, gotten you out of tight situations?"

"Of course." Aspen didn't mention the scar. He hadn't been fast enough that time, and it blazed like a reminder down her face.

"I want what's best for you. That's why I took you in after you were out of high school. I felt I owed your parents the favor of doing everything I could for their daughter." It had crossed Aspen's mind a few times over the last three years that he could have just paid for her to go to college right then and there. If he'd really been looking out for Ava and Gregor's best interests, he wouldn't have made their daughter into a smuggler. Life was not a place for handouts though. She knew that well. You had to work hard for what you wanted, and so she did. "You know, of course, what your parents studied, but I never told you about a specific project they were working on, did I?"

Aspen shook her head. Her aunt had never spoken of it but Aspen always had the feeling that they had been studying something dangerous, something that had led to the explosion in their lab and their subsequent deaths.

"Your parents were very interested in genetics. How DNA shapes a person and if it's possible to shape the DNA to change the person. Heavy stuff, I know. Your parents believed that with the proper serum, they could alter DNA or even the way the brain functioned. It had been done before – a serum that changed a person's DNA. Have you heard of the Super Soldier Serum?" Aspen shook her head again. "You wouldn't have. Before your time by several decades. It was a serum created by a German scientist and given to an American soldier. It enhanced is body to make him the perfect human specimen. He was faster, stronger, able to recall memories in great detail. Many people tried to recreate this serum over the years, but were not successful. Your parents turned their focus on the brain. What if they were to find a way of unlocking the brain? They say we only use ten percent of our brains. Imagine if you could use one hundred percent."

Aspen couldn't imagine. "What could a person do?"

"No one knows. Anything I suppose, within reason."

"Fly?"

Danners gave her a patient smile. "Perhaps not fly. Your parents worked on this serum in college. That's where we met. I was giving a lecture on military advancements. They approached me afterwards with an idea. A serum that could open up that possibility. They thought perhaps it could be used in the military. Create a new kind of Super Soldier. That's where their fates were set, I'm afraid. Do you know what some people will do to get their hands on this kind of research?"

"I have an idea," Aspen said quietly.

"Anything. I tried to protect them as best I could, but there must have been a spy within their midst. I didn't get there in time. They died before they completed their research. My company dried up soon after. I created ARTIFACT because I'd seen what people would do for something like that serum. I vowed never again to let powerful weapons get into the wrong hands. We might not work with the law, but I've made sure a lot of objects have gone to the right hands."

"I'm sure my parents would approve – I mean that you're trying to keep people safe. I know they wouldn't have wanted their serum or anything else dangerous like that to fall into the wrong hands."

"That brings me to my next concern. I'm not sure that all the research was at the facility when it blew. It could be out there still. Hopefully not in the wrong hands – no, we would know by now if it was. I was hoping that you might know something. Maybe your aunt mentioned-"

Aspen let out an involuntary laugh. "Aunt Vi? No. That topic is off limits completely. This is the first time I've ever heard of any serum."

"I see. I was hoping you might be able to help me. I want to make sure that their research gets found if there is any left, but by the right people. I don't think I need to tell you how dangerous it could be in the wrong hands."

"No. I'll look around a little. See if I can find anything. Maybe my aunt has something."

"That would be wonderful. Why don't you take a few days off? See what you can find."

"Thank you, sir." She stood to leave.

"Oh, and Aspen, don't tell your aunt about this. I'd hate for her to think I was trying to profit from this. I just want to see it safe."

"Don't worry. She freaks whenever I mention my parents. I'll look around when she's not there."

"Good, good. Well, get some rest. You did a good job today."

"What are you going to do with the cuffs?" Aspen asked, glancing over at the two silver objects.

"Oh, I'm sure I'll find a use for them."

Aspen nodded, taking her leave. She felt restless after her conversation with Danners. She drove around for a long time until she found herself on her aunt's street in front of the home she'd spent the better part of her life. The paint was peeling on the plum colored two-story. The grass was dead and the window boxes empty. Just looking at it could drain the happiness from someone. She parked on the curb, cutting the engine and the lights. Everything was dark inside but then again it was close to four in the morning, so her aunt would be asleep, probably passed out with her brandy bottle close at hand. Aspen leapt over the waist-high picket fence and made her way around to the backyard. The window to the laundry room was easy enough to jimmy. She couldn't count the amount of times she'd slipped out through it to escape the confines of the house when things got too hard to handle. Now she climbed in, sliding across the washer to the floor. The hallway beyond was black, but she knew every bit of that house, every creak, and managed to find her way into the first floor study without difficulty. She closed the door and made sure the curtains were closed before turning on the desk light. It dimly illuminated the cluttered room, and Aspen took a moment to check her surroundings. Her aunt had never allowed her in this room, so of course it was the first place she thought to check. She'd snuck in a few times over the years of course, but then it had been neater, everything that needed to be out of sight was well hidden. Now it looked as if her aunt had ransacked the room looking for something. A half drunk glass of brandy sat on the desk. Her aunt had been in here recently. Curiosity piqued, Aspen began her search.

Twenty dust-filled minutes later she'd only found old news articles and useless paperwork. She pulled out yet another news article, but the headline kept her from tossing it away.

**Fourteen Dead in Mysterious Lab Explosion**

It was from the day after her parents had died. She brought the paper over to the light, seating herself in the creaky swivel chair and reading.

_June 2, 1994_

_In an explosion that lit up the night sky just outside of Portland, Oregon, fourteen are dead. Police are still searching as the damage to the infrastructure prohibits access to much of the lab. The bodies have not been identified because of the fire, but it has been confirmed that Ava Tolvar, 29, and Gregor Tolvar, 30, were in the lab during the time of the explosion. The Tolvars were renowned scientists of neuroscience and genetics. It is not known what they were working on at the time of the explosion, and nothing has been recovered within the lab to give a cause to the tragic accident. Police are still investigating. _

Aspen set the paper aside. So many questions. Everything about her parents was a mystery. The one person who might know more about it refused to speak of it. Aspen was tired of living in the dark. She had a right to know about her parents and how they'd died. For someone whose nature was to find out facts, it was frustrating beyond belief to be denied the simple truth for so long. She had been three when her parents had died. That didn't exactly allow a lot of time for her to get to know them. The most her aunt had ever said about them was that they were good people who made a mistake that got them killed and that if Aspen didn't want to end up the same way, she'd keep her head down and not ask questions. Maybe in some twisted sense, Aunt Vi was trying to protect her, but that had never stopped Aspen from wondering what had really happened that fateful night. She sighed, leaning back in the chair and pressing her fingers to her temples as a headache tugged at her brain. Where would her aunt hide anything pertaining to her parents' work? Aspen's eyes met with a black and white photo on the opposite wall from where she sat. It was one of her father's from when he'd fiddled around with an old film camera. There was definite talent there, but he hadn't gotten the chance to explore it. Aspen got up from the chair and crossed the room, taking a moment to admire the Portland skyline before pulling the photograph down from the wall. A safe with a numeric keypad for the code was exposed.

Aspen pushed up the sleeves of her jacket and hovered a finger over the keypad as she thought. There were six spaces for the numbers so it was probably a date. She tried her aunt's date of birth and then hers. When neither worked she looked around the office for any sort of clue. Aunt Vi wouldn't make it something random. Her life might be a mess, but she was still methodical. Aspen's eyes landed on the article. _June 2, 1994_ stood out under the headline. Aspen's fingers trembled as she typed in the code: 6-2-1-9-9-4. The safe beeped shortly and clicked. Aspen pulled the door open.

"What on earth do you think you're doing?" The overhead light flicked on, and Aunt Vi stood in the doorway. "I thought I taught you not to go sticking your nose where it doesn't belong." Aunt Vi's red curls were messy as if she'd just woken up or hadn't bothered to brush them in the first place. Aspen could smell brandy on her, but her brown eyes were sharp as ever and looking quite deadly.

"I thought you were asleep." She wasn't about to apologize for what she had done.

"You stand in front of me after having not only broken into my house but my safe and make a wise-ass comment like that?" Aspen just glared. Her aunt glared right back. Then to Aspen's surprise she let out a long breath, her shoulders sagging as if she'd been cut from the strings holding her so taut. "Aspen, honey, you know I kept this stuff from you to protect you."

It was the first time Aspen had heard those words out loud. The first time her aunt had spoken to her about 'this stuff' without shouting that Aspen needed to keep her nose out of it. "Really?" she asked spitefully. "Cause it seemed more like you wanted to make me as miserable as possible."

Aunt Vi stood still for a moment and then put a hand to her head. "I really did screw up, didn't I?" Aspen didn't grace her with an answer. "Come on. I'll put the kettle on, and we can sit in the living room." She glanced at the open safe and Aspen's hand that was still resting on the door. "Just leave that a minute," she said. "Please."

The pleading behind the word 'please' was the only thing that made Aspen remove her hand from the safe door and follow her aunt into the living room. That and the hope that she was about to learn something – _anything_ – about her parents. She waited impatiently while her aunt put on the kettle in the other room. Aunt Vi seemed to be gathering her thoughts because she took a long time, waiting for the water to boil and the tea to steep before bringing two steaming mugs into the living room.

"How's work?" Aunt Vi asked, bitterness in her voice. "Danners treating you well?"

"Everything is fine. He told me a little bit about my parents which is more than I can say for you."

Aunt Vi gave her a sharp look. "Did he now?"

"He said they were working on a serum that would give a person full use of their brain. He said that some of that work might still be out there and that it could be dangerous in the wrong hands." No use keeping that all a secret now.

"And he thinks he's got the right hands?" Aunt Vi scoffed.

"Maybe. You know he's treated me well."

"Yeah, hired you as a smuggler. What side of the law is he on again?"

"He's paying my way through college. Three months and I'm done there."

"Oh yeah. You got that in writing?"

"I know you don't like Danners, and I'm not entirely sure why, but he's given me absolutely no reason not to trust him. Yeah, the work can get hard, but we're saving these artifacts from falling into the wrong hands." Aunt Vi pursed her lips, and Aspen knew she wanted to question whether Danners hands were the 'right' hands again. "He doesn't keep all of them. He sells them to people who can keep them safe."

"Is that what he tells you? I thought it was to the highest bidder."

Aspen felt a jab of frustration. "I didn't come here to discuss Danners or ARTIFACT," she said angrily.

"No, you came here like a common thief to make off with some of my possessions like they were just another good you needed to smuggle into Danners."

Aspen felt a rush of shame mingled with frustration. "Well you gave me no choice. You never told me anything."

"What makes you think you need to know about your parents' work? About their past and the accident?"

"Because sometimes it's hard to believe they ever even existed. I was three when they died. I don't remember them. Just snippets of memories where I can't quite make out their faces. I don't want to forget them, and I don't want look back and my past and see a big cloud of mystery and misery. I want to know the truth."

"You are so much like your parents. Always in pursuit of the truth no matter how much it might cost you. But you know what happened to them, what it cost them. I don't want the same thing to happen to you."

"Shouldn't I know what I'm up against?"

"You aren't up against anything. It's better to be in the dark, trust me."

"I wish I could, but you've lied to me all my life, kept secrets. You've never given me any reason to trust you."

"Then trust that I made a vow to your parents to keep you safe, and I am trying as hard as I can to do that. You don't make it easy though. Working for Danners…asking questions..."

"Are you going to show me what's in the safe or not?" Aspen asked.

Aunt Vi was silent for a long moment, sipping at her tea. Aspen tapped her foot impatiently on the floor. "Fine." Aunt Vi got up, setting her mug back down on the coffee table so hard that some of the amber liquid spilled out. She left the room, and Aspen found that her pulse had sped up and her heart was racing. Was she about to learn the full truth about her parents? Aunt Vi returned holding a small shoe box. She set it on the table between them and opened the lid setting it aside. Aspen saw several items that struck some sort of memory for her. Her aunt reached in and pulled out a watch with a cracked surface. She handed it to Aspen.

"That was your mother's. She wore it everyday. Such a stickler for time. If there wasn't a clock in the room she'd panic. She had a tendency for losing track of time in the lab and missing important appointments. Nearly missed her own wedding. Somehow it survived the explosion."

"You mean…" Aspen nearly tossed the watch back in the box. "It was on her when…"

"They found it in the rubble. Not on her..." She pulled out a paper envelope and handed it to Aspen. She slid out a set of photos from her childhood. Pictures of her as a baby and a toddler. Riding on her little bouncy horse in the backyard, eating a bite of birthday cake when she turned two, petting a miniature horse at the petting zoo. She didn't remember any of this but here was photographic evidence that it had happened.

"Why haven't you showed me these before?" she asked. She realized that her eyes had grown moist and tried to push the surge of emotions she had just experienced back.

"I thought it might be too hard to see what you had and what you can never have again," her aunt said.

"But at least I had it for awhile. Can I keep these?" she asked. Her aunt nodded. "What else?"

Her aunt pulled a folder out of the box next. It was labeled 'Superhero Serum' in a familiar handwriting. "These documents are something I have guarded with my life. I probably shouldn't keep them here, but I don't trust banks and burying it in the backyard seemed a little silly. You must never mention these documents to anyone, especially Joseph Danners. If anyone asks, you came her tonight to find out more about your parents and all you found were these photos. I don't have anything else of theirs. Promise me."

Aspen thought back to Danners's request that she find the missing documents that showed her parents' work on the serum. She saw the desperation in her aunt's eyes and gave a nod. The truth was owed to her first and foremost. Anyone else would have to wait. "I promise. It stays between you and me."

Aunt Vi opened the folder and handed it to Aspen. "This is your parents' work. The night before they died, they gave it to me and told me to guard it with my life and to never let it fall into the wrong hands."

Aspen stared down at the papers. Scribbles and notes, more scribbles in the margins. The notes were a complete mess but they were written in scrawling cursive (her mother's?) and her choppy shorthand (that had to be her father's). What was more, she could understand the basics of what their notes described. "This is genius. How did they even discover this?"

"Teamwork, ingenuity. They studied other serums and enlisted the help of some talented scientists."

"Do you think one of the other scientists betrayed them?"

"Possibly. But a lot of people died in that explosion. Not too many people know of their work. But it just takes one to make a mess of things." She let Aspen read through the rest of the notes and then took them back, placing them inside the box and closing the lid. "It's just a folder with papers, but to the right person it's a weapon. I think you of all people can understand that."

"I can. Thank you for showing me, Aunt Vi."

"I just hope I've done the right thing. I'd never forgive myself if anything happened to you."

"Nothing's going to happen. I can take care of myself."

"I know you can. But you shouldn't always have to. I know I haven't been a good guardian. I'm a sorry excuse for a mom. I've made mistakes in the past, mistakes I won't ever forgive myself for, but that doesn't excuse the way I've treated you. I suppose I pushed you away because after all the bad I've done, I thought I'd mess you up too."

"Maybe we're both a little messed up, but that just means we can learn from our mistakes," Aspen told her.

"Now when did you get so wise?" Aunt Vi asked, cracking a smile. It lit up her face in a way Aspen hadn't seen in years.

"I'm not sure I'm very wise," Aspen said. "I have no idea what I'm doing right now, but I do know what I want to do and that's finish up at ARTIFACT and go to college. I want to study science like my parents and maybe continue their work but for the greater good. I won't make the same mistakes."

"You should get back," her aunt said, taking the box protectively. "Remember your promise."

"I won't tell anyone about it." They stood and an awkward silence filled the room. "Thanks for the tea."

"Anytime honey. Maybe we can do it again."

"Yeah, maybe."

…

"The aunt has the papers," the man across the street from Violet Fengard's two-story house said into his earpiece. "She just showed them to the girl."

"Where does she keep them?"

"I can't see exactly where, but she went into a room across from the living room. Probably a safe in there. The girl's leaving."

"Wait until the girl leaves on her next mission and then retrieve the papers. Don't kill the aunt though; she could have some valuable information. She knows more than she's letting on. She'd have us believe that she's some drunken nobody, but she was there at the birth of that serum. She knows how it works."

"Copy that." The earpiece went silent and the man turned the keys in the engine, driving in the opposite direction as the girl. Three years of patiently waiting and the girl had finally led them straight to the prize.


	3. A Clash of Thunder

**Author's Note: 4/29/14 **Wow, three favorites, three watches, and a lovely review on just the prologue and first chapter! Thank you! That gives me a lot of confidence to keep going with my story. You guys totally made my week! I'm glad you're enjoying! Thank you for reading!

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**2 – A Clash of Thunder – June 1, 2011**

Aspen spent her days off at home looking through the photos over and over as if she could bring her parents back to life by staring at their image and wishing it. It was one of the few times in her life she wished she had someone to talk to. Her aunt didn't count. What words had been exchanged the night Aspen had broken in had been more than they'd spoken in three or four years. The last time they'd spoken at length they'd had a rousing argument over Aspen leaving to join ARTIFACT. As her legal guardian, Aunt Vi could have stopped Aspen, but when Aspen had run away and signed the paperwork for ARTIFACT, there wasn't much she could do. Aspen didn't have any friends. Working for a place like ARTIFACT didn't really give her much she could talk about, and she found it safer to keep to herself. She'd never made friends easily anyway. People found her reserved and aloof. Something about the silent, smart ones as if they were planning something devious. It was just simpler to keep her contacts inside of her job.

Aspen was glad to get back to work after her third day off. She needed something to keep her mind otherwise occupied. Three days of holing herself up in her apartment staring at pictures of her dead parents couldn't be healthy. She arrived in Danners's office at six sharp. He looked up at her eagerly, and Aspen knew the question he was about to ask.

"Did you find anything out?"

"Nothing. I talked to my aunt, but all she had were some old photographs and a broken watch."

Danners frowned. "I thought you were going to leave your aunt out of this."

"She kind of caught me snooping… I know, bad for a smuggler, but she's more with it than I realized.

"Anything in the photos?"

Aspen sighed, sitting down in front of his desk. "Just me as a child. It was kind of depressing to be honest." She wasn't sure why she was lying to Danners, but it seemed safer for now. Even though her aunt had told her some things, Aspen knew there was much more she was still in the dark about.

"I'm sorry to hear that." Aspen didn't ask if he was referring to her not finding anything important or finding the pictures to be depressing. "Well I have something that will cheer you up."

"A mission?"

"Something intriguing. We're not sure what it is."

"Where is it?"

"Puente Antiguo, New Mexico."

"Am I bringing it back?" she asked.

"Report back to me after you've observed the object. Retrieval might not be possible at once, but we need to get to it before it falls into the wrong hands."

"Sir?"

"Let's just say we're not the only organization out there that deals with this sort of thing," he said, waving his hand without elaborating. "I'll speak with you when you arrive in New Mexico."

It was a long drive, and Aspen reached her destination as the afternoon hit two thirty. The drive had required air conditioning, and Aspen was ready for some fresh air even if it was desert air when she rolled into the tiny town of Puente Antiguo. The endless desert was something she had grown to despise. She had been born in Portland, Oregon. She hardly remembered it, but sometimes in the heat of the summer when she was sweating and thirsty, she could almost feel the fresh rain on her skin and smell the moist earth. She had a memory of going out to play in the mud, getting her tiny bare feet caked with it before her parents came out and found her. Instead of reprimanding her, they'd kicked off their shoes and joined her, dancing in a circle until their hair was dripping and they were all laughing. She wasn't even sure if it was a real memory but that laughter still haunted her sometimes when she was fast asleep. She'd wake up calling out her parents' names only to find herself alone in a small, dark studio apartment, a dart gun on her nightstand and her shadow splayed out across the ceiling from the light of her digital clock. She never pretended to be tough but sometimes what she really needed were her parents to pull her into a hug and tell her it was going to be all right.

For now she was stuck in the middle of the desert driving through a small town that looked as if it hadn't progressed past 1950. Her Audi stood out, and she wished she'd taken a different car. Danners had sent the location to her GPS system, and it was telling her to go straight through town and drive fifty miles. There she would find whatever this item was that he was interested in. She stopped in town to fill up on gas and grab lunch and an iced tea from the gas station store. The air was hot and dry, and she was ready to get back into the cool interior of her car after about thirty seconds.

She had no trouble finding the object in question; in fact, she wasn't the only one who had noticed it. A group of people had all gathered around a semi-deep crater that had been hewn into the arid ground. Aspen pulled her Audi up alongside one of the other parked cars and got out, retrieving her binoculars to get a better view of the object.

It was a hammer. Not the kind that you'd use to pound a few nails in. No, this one looked like something that a dwarf from _The Lord of the Rings_ might carry into battle. The silver metal of the head was inlaid with twisting patterns around the edges that looked ancient. Scandinavian? The most unusual point of interest was the fact that people were going down into the crater and attempting to lift the hammer. Considering that no one had yet succeeded, Aspen wondered if this was the Scandinavian version of Excalibur. She frowned. If these muscular men weren't having any luck lifting the hammer, she didn't stand a chance. She put down her binoculars and pulled out her cell phone, connecting a call to Danners.

"Talk to me," he said without preamble, picking up on the first ring.

"It's a hammer," she said. "It looks ancient with twisting Scandinavian etchings on it. It's sitting in a crater like it fell from the sky, and people are trying to pull it out with no luck. Oh, now someone is hooking it up to their truck. Hold on." She watched for a moment as the driver revved his engine and pressed on the accelerator. "Nope, I don't believe it. It took the bed off." Sure enough, the bed of the truck had flipped up and gone flying. "I'm not sure about doing a retrieval on this one, sir. There's something supernatural about it."

"Interesting." Danners was silent for a long moment. "This might not be possible to collect, but I want you to keep an eye on it. See who the other interested parties are."

"Are you expecting someone, sir?" she asked, frowning. She scanned the crowd for anyone who looked like more than a curious bystander. She caught sight of a man standing several yards away, watching the people laughing over the failed attempts to pull the hammer out. It was probably the most exciting thing that had ever happened in this little town.

"Just keep your eyes open. Where objects like this appear, interested organizations are never far behind. Report back everything to me." He hung up. Aspen picked up her binoculars again and scanned the crowd for anything suspicious. Like the man she had spotted earlier. He had a gun tucked under his shirt. She couldn't miss the familiar shape. She put the binoculars down just as he turned and glanced at her. Shoot. She needed to stay under the radar if she was going to be spying. She tried to act casual, pulling out her phone and taking a picture of the hammer. She sent it to Danners and then pretended to text for a moment while keeping the man in her peripheral vision. He had short dark blonde hair, spiked on the top, and piercing grey eyes. He was of medium height but built strong. She could see the muscles under his grey cargo jacket. He pulled out a walkie talkie and said something into it. Then he turned and headed toward a van sitting on the outskirts of the crowd. He disappeared into the van. Aspen frowned, wondering who he was and who he worked for.

She didn't see him come out of the van for a couple of hours. She was getting thirsty now as the sun beamed down on them. The excitement over the hammer hadn't died though. People were actually BBQing hotdogs now and sharing beers while they continued to try to pull the hammer out. They were posing for pictures and a local news station had pulled up an hour ago. Aspen was getting bored. That was when the black cars started spilling in. Aspen stood at attention, watching as the cars quickly overtook the scene. People in suits and sunglasses quickly came out and began to disperse the crowd. Not wanting to draw attention to herself, Aspen got into her car and drove away. She'd come back later.

She found a diner back in town and ordered an early dinner and another large iced tea. She called Danners and reported to him about the newcomers. She could feel the tension over the phone line when she mentioned them. "Do you know who they are, sir?" she asked.

"Someone who would see me ruined," he said after a long pause. "Find out what they want with the artifact," he requested.

"I will. But sir, shouldn't I know who I'm dealing with?" she asked, frowning. She hated going into an investigation blind.

"Just don't get caught," he said before hanging up. Aspen frowned. Some help that was. Clearly whoever it was rattled Danners and few people did that. She'd go back after nightfall when she could blend in with the shadows and see just who she was dealing with.

…

She left her car a mile away from the hammer and continued on foot. She was dressed in black, donning the cap she had taken from the guard on her mission a few days before. Her dart guns were loaded, and she had added a couple of knives to the collection. She found the scene much changed from before. Black vans and cars were set up along the perimeter and guards were set. She slipped past them easily enough, looking down into the crater to find that it had been blocked off with plastic tunnels. Spotlights similar to the ones used at football games lit up the scene. The hammer itself was out of sight within a blocked off section of the structure. It looked like the scene of a biohazard disaster or something. She wasn't sure what this organization was, but she was willing to bet they thought the hammer was something out of the ordinary too. Of course it had fallen out of the sky and created a crater where it had struck. Also no one could budge it. Nothing too ordinary about that. Aspen walked a fine line on ordinary and extraordinary in her job. She also knew that there was a lot more advanced science out there than the normal citizen was aware of. Technology could advance at a much greater pace when money and manpower was being poured into it. But then there were the things that science couldn't explain and money couldn't build. She'd come across very few of those things in her lifetime, but she had a feeling that this hammer was one of them.

She didn't know what else could be gained by sitting here. Thunder was rumbling in the distance, and she didn't feel like getting stuck in a downpour. She was about to turn and go when she felt the tip of a gun being pressed to her temple. "Don't move," breathed a deep voice. "I'm going to count to three, and you're going to stand. Reach for a weapon, and I shoot."

Aspen nodded slowly to show she understood. "One. Two," the man counted. "Three." She slowly rose, hands open and out to the side. The gun didn't leave her temple as the man reached for her dart guns and then her knife. She had another one in her boot, but she was willing to bet he could shoot her before she reached for it. "Alright, turn around and face me," the man said. He pulled the gun away from her head but kept it aimed at her. She turned to face him, but couldn't quite make out his face in the shadows. "Who are you?" he asked. "Who do you work for?"

"I could ask you the same question," she said.

"Except I'm the one who caught you snooping around our set up. You don't get to ask the questions."

"Just because you have a gun pointed at my head doesn't mean I'll answer your questions. I don't see why I should if I have no idea who you are." She knew how to stall. She could test him until she got an idea of whether or not he'd really shoot her if she refused to answer his questions.

The sky had opened up and rain began to pour down. "Can we at least go somewhere dry if you're insistent on interrogating me?" she asked. The man jerked his gun to the right.

"In there," he said, pointing toward the black van she had seen him enter earlier. "You go first. Don't try to run, I'm a good shot."

She sighed, heading toward the van and sliding in. He followed, and she got her first good look at him. It was the same man she had seen earlier. His sharp grey eyes didn't leave her as he shut the door to the van. He looked to be in his early forties but he was in excellent shape, and she could see a sort of professional guardedness in his eyes that came with experience. His black jacket bore an eagle symbol on the sleeve. She didn't know what it meant but she would bet it was the symbol for the mysterious organization. She hadn't meant to get caught, but she realized this was an excellent opportunity to learn more about them. "Have a seat," he said, motioning her into a swivel chair. She sat, wiping her damp hands on her rain-spattered jeans. He set her dart guns and knife down behind him. She cocked her head at him, waiting to see what he would do next. From the way he stood, she could tell that he'd had extensive training in combat. He was steady and sure, shoulders straight, hand held properly on the gun. His face showed no signs of emotion and his eyes were cool and controlled. He sat down across from her, lowering the gun, but keeping it in hand. It was a casual gesture but she knew without a doubt that he could have it up and at her temple in a second. Aspen had some combat training, but she knew she didn't stand a chance against someone like this.

"How about we start with your name," he said.

"Will you tell me yours if I tell you mine?" she countered.

He sighed. "Fine."

"Aspen," she said.

"Aspen what?"

"Why do you need to know?" She doubted he would have heard of her. Her name couldn't be typed into Google with any hope of results. It might bring up the science fair she had won a prize in in high school or list of graduates from her year, but it wouldn't tell him who she was. Still, if she could tell him the bare minimum that was what she intended to do. "What about your name?" she asked when he didn't reply.

"Last name first."

Aspen sighed. "Fine, Tolvar."

"Barton," he said.

"Is that your first or last name?" she asked.

"It's all you get." She frowned. "I saw you earlier," he said.

"I thought I'd check out the thing that everyone was so excited about. I got curious after you guys showed up."

"So you're just a curious tourist armed with two dart guns and a knife?" he asked, picking up one of the guns to study it. "These are advanced. Not the kind of thing you could buy at Cabela's."

"Well unless you plan on torturing me to find out any more, I don't see any reason why I should keep talking."

"Who do you work for?" He seemed unfazed, grey eyes calm as ever.

"What makes you think I work for anyone? It's a free country."

"You're just a foot soldier," Barton told her. "You're not working on your own."

"How would you know that?" she asked, glaring at him.

"Trust me. I know the look of someone who's taking orders. You made a call when you were here earlier. Was it to your boss? Why is he interested in the hammer?"

"Why wouldn't someone be interested in something like that?" she countered.

"Either he wants it for money or to study it." He was shrewd; she'd give him that. "Which is it?"

"Why are _you_ keeping it? It's not yours. Unless you're secretly a battle dwarf out of Middle Earth." She pretended to size him up. He didn't blink. "Nope, too tall."

"I'm asking the questions. Look, it takes more than just a curious reporter to slip past our guards. Clearly you're highly trained. You're either trying to steal it so that your boss can study it or you're trying to steal it so that he can sell it to the highest bidder. We can do this all night."

"What does it matter? I don't have any way to get it. Clearly it's impossible to lift for some strange reason as we saw earlier."

Barton sighed, showing his frustration for the first time. "Look Tolvar," he said. "Either you start talking or we do this the hard way and I detain you and keep you locked up until you tell us what your MO is."

She clamped her lips together. She didn't like being bossed around. Barton didn't miss the gesture. His brows furrowed in consternation. Then his headset buzzed to life and someone said something to him. Barton's eyes narrowed and he nodded. "I'm on it," he said. He turned to Aspen. "We'll finish this later, but we _will_ finish this," he said. He grabbed a set of handcuffs from a drawer. Aspen rolled her eyes at this, but he cuffed her to the chair which she now realized was welded into the floor of the van. "Don't move," he said before grabbing a recurve bow from its case and snapping it into readiness. He opened the door to the van and jumped out, slamming it behind him.

Aspen instantly began looking around. There were close circuit cameras everywhere, and she saw Barton sliding through the shadows in one of them. He was good, she had to admit. Clearly he had extensive training that made her look like a bumbling idiot. She certainly hadn't been able to pass by him unnoticed. On another camera she saw a large blonde man walking straight into the camp. He took out two guards like they were bowling pins, not even breaking his stride. He looked angry and intent on getting to something. Her eyes drifted to the camera trained on the hammer. It clicked together. The man was after the hammer. Whoever he was. It was clear to her that she could do no more here tonight. She wasn't going to risk being interrogated further. Danners had warned her not to get caught, and she had done just the opposite. She pulled a bobby pin out of her hair and started on the lock. Clearly this man had underestimated her. She had the cuffs unlocked in a matter of seconds and cast her eyes around the van for anything useful. She grabbed her knife and dart guns, stowing them in her belt. A folder titled _Einstein-Rosen Bridge_ caught her attention and she filched it, tucking it into her coat before leaving the van. She could hear the chaos down below but slipped away, running in the rain until she reached her car.

It had been close tonight. She was now aware that there were other organizations out there who wanted to get their hands on artifacts like that. Whether to study or destroy or sell, she had no idea. It wasn't her job to ask questions. It was her job to acquire things, and that was what she was best at. She hoped Danners wouldn't be too disappointed that she couldn't acquire this object. Something told her its owner had already come looking for it. She hadn't stayed long enough to see if he could lift it, but she wasn't risking Barton coming back and finding her out of her handcuffs. She'd find a hotel the next town over and see what transpired the following day. She wasn't leaving until she had answers.

…

"Did she escape?" Agent Coulson asked Agent Clint Barton after the mysterious blonde intruder had been contained and given an initial interrogation.

"Yes, sir, she took her dart guns back, so the tracking device should be active."

"Good. We need to find out who she's working for. You said her name was Tolvar?"

"That's what she told me. I'm not sure if she was telling the truth. Stubborn thing." In truth she reminded him of a woman he knew and admired. Another redhead.

"The name sounds familiar," Coulson said thoughtfully. "I'll look into it after I finish up with our guest. Track her back to wherever she came from. Take her in if you need to. I'll be in touch."

"Yes, sir."


	4. Job Offer

**Author's Note: 4/30/14 **Six favorites already? Wow! Thank you! I have to admit, I was a little scared to post this story... I'm such a new Marvel fan, but I'm having so much fun writing, and your support has really given me confidence. I'm on page 130 now. I started this 13 days ago... I never write that fast. I just bought myself a new Macbook Pro, so I'll probably be writing even more! (My poor little Macbook is down to 3 hours battery power and likes to force quit Word and the internet ALL THE FREAKING TIME.) Anyway, yeah. That's exciting. So I was asked if I was researching the backstories of the characters going off of the comics as well, and yes! I have checked out the characters' pages on every form of Marvel wiki and will try to include some details that aren't mentioned in the movies. I'm also working with a plot in part two that is a mixture of something that happened in the comics and my own little twist. (I confess, I've never actually read a comic before save the Sunday comics in the paper...)

Anyway, thank you so much for reading! I'm sitting in the sun in a tank top and shorts with my zebra finches just soaking in the sun and writing (well, I'm writing. They're eating and meeping). It's the first really warm day we've had so far this year, and I'm loving it! I even got off work two hours early to enjoy the day.

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**3 – Job Offer– June 1, 2011**

Aspen set down the key to the hotel room she had rented in another small town outside of Puente Antiguo. She wasn't sure if she'd exactly call it a town (it only had a hotel, a gas station, and a bar), but it would do. Something buzzed from within her bag, and she pulled out her cell phone expecting it to be Danners looking for an update. Instead she saw her aunt's name glowing on the screen.

"Hello? Aunt Vi?"

The other side of the line was silent for a moment and then her aunt's voice came on the line. Aspen could tell something was wrong at once. "They came for it," she said in a shuddering voice.

"Aunt Vi? Are you okay? Who came for it? What are you talking about?"

"The documents. Your parents' work on the serum. They somehow knew where it was. They came and they took it."

"Are you alright?"

"I'm okay. Shaken. They didn't hurt me, not too badly."

Aspen felt her blood boil at the thought of someone hurting her aunt. "Who came for it, Aunt Vi?"

She felt a jolt of surprise as Aunt Vi replied. "ARTIFACT."

"What? No! Danners wouldn't come attack you and steal from you! He doesn't know you have it," she protested. "It must have been someone else. There are other organizations out there, Aunt Vi. I met one today-"

"You're not listening. It was ARTIFACT. Danners sent the men."

"How do you know?"

Her aunt took a long shuddering breath. "Because I used to work for Danners," she said finally. "And I knew these men. There's a reason I tried so hard to keep you from working for Joseph Danners. He's not a good man Aspen. He blackmailed me into letting you work for him. Threatened you. That's part of the reason I pushed you away. I was afraid I'd give away too much and you would get hurt. There's no one out there to protect us against people like Danners. I couldn't risk it. I just had to hope that he wouldn't hurt you."

Aspen couldn't believe what she was hearing. Joseph Danners had been nothing but kind and generous to her. He would never send men to attack her aunt and steal her parents' work. But who else knew about the serum? He had asked her three days before to try to find the paperwork so it wouldn't fall into the wrong hands. Maybe he knew an enemy organization was on the verge of finding it. Or maybe _he_ was the enemy organization. Aspen's thoughts flitted to Barton and the eagle insignia. Were they friend or foe? She didn't know who to trust suddenly, and it frightened her.

"I'm coming home, Aunt Vi," she said, making up her mind. Protecting her aunt was more important than staying here. Danners wasn't going to get the hammer anyway.

"No! Stay where you are. You're safer there."

"No way. I'm coming home and getting you somewhere safe."

"They got what they came for. I'm not in any danger anymore. But you are. "

"How?"

"Danners got what he wants. He doesn't need you anymore."

"He wouldn't kill me. I'm sure this is all a misunderstanding."

"Aspen sometimes you are so naïve." Her aunt's words stung, and Aspen took a step back as if to distance herself from her aunt.

"Well at least I actually give people a chance before shutting them out." Aspen hit the end call button angrily and put the phone on silent, tossing it into her bag. She paced the room several times before grabbing her bag and heading out to her car. Whether she was angry with her aunt or not, she couldn't just stay here when she might be in danger. If ARTIFACT was behind the attack, she was going to find out.

…

The first thing she did when she arrived in Phoenix was drive to her aunt's house. She was sure Aunt Vi would throw a fit when she saw her, but she needed to make sure she was alright. When she parked at the curb, she saw that the lights were on in the house even though it was still the early hours of the morning. She knocked and then tried the knob. It was locked, but her aunt's face appeared in the window a moment later. She gave Aspen a disapproving look, disappearing from view. The locks clicked and the door opened wide enough for Aspen to squeeze through.

"It's a wonder you even have a job. You don't follow directions well."

"No, I don't." Aspen inspected her aunt. She was holding her arm close to her body as if it had been jostled but otherwise she appeared fine. "How are you holding up?"

"As well as I can with those papers in Danners's hands."

"We don't know that he has them."

"Aspen, I know him. I know the way he works. He took them."

"But you can't tell me anything more?"

"Not if you're still here. Not with him still around. He could still hurt you."

"I'm going in to talk to him later." Her aunt's eyes widened. "There's nothing you can say to stop me. I need to know. I can find out without telling him what I know. Trust me."

"It's him I don't trust."

"I know. Just let me handle this. I'll call you as soon as I speak to him."

"There's nothing I can say to make you change your mind?" Aspen shook her head. Her aunt buried her head in her hands. "I should never have shown you those documents," she said.

"I would have found them somehow."

"Do you have any idea how dangerous those papers could be in the wrong hands?"

"I do. I'm going to find them, Aunt Vi. I promise. Just sit tight. Make some tea and do not drink any alcohol. It won't help."

Aspen left her aunt looking distraught, but there wasn't anything she could do to comfort her at this point. She wasn't going to just leave the city and drop the matter. If Danners really was behind this, she needed to know. She didn't want him to be, but she had to admit that it seemed too much of a coincidence that he had asked about the papers a few days before they went missing. Someone must have been watching her aunt's house, seen them look at the papers. How would they even know what they were? It hit Aspen then that someone had known for a long time that the papers had to be somewhere either in Aunt Vi's possession or her own. Was that why Danners had hired her in the first place? To use her to find the serum notes?

She decided she needed a clearer head before going back to ARTIFACT headquarters. She made it back to her apartment and dropped onto her bed, asleep before she had a chance to change out of her clothes.

…

She didn't think that she had left any breadcrumbs, but somehow Barton had found her. She wasn't sure if the folder she had taken was important – she hadn't had a chance to look at it. All she knew was that Barton was leaned up against her Audi when she left her apartment after waking up late. His arms were crossed over his chest, and he watched her with keen eyes.

She stopped short, unable to hide her surprise. "Oh," she said.

"You took something that didn't belong to you. And I think I know who you are now."

"Oh?" she asked. She couldn't seem to come up with any other words at the moment. She blamed it on lack of sleep.

"A smuggler. You steal things for your boss and he sells them to the highest bidder. We're aware of such organizations out there, you know."

"Well, he's aware of you too," Aspen said. It didn't seem to faze him.

"I would hope so. We're his worst nightmare."

"Well he has the folder, and I can't get it back, so you're out of luck," she lied.

"The file belonged to Doctor Jane Foster, but we have copies of the documents," Barton said.

"Then why are you here?"

"I'm here to offer you a deal," he said. Not what she had been expecting.

"What kind of deal?"

"My agency sent me to get you out of our hair," he said, getting straight to the point.

"To kill me?" Aspen asked, lifting an eyebrow. What had she stolen?

Barton shrugged. "They made it my call. But no, I don't typically knock off teenagers who pilfer."

Aspen glared at him. "So what are you going to do?"

"I told you. I'm going to make you an offer. You come work for us. Use your skills for a better purpose."

"I don't even know who you work for. How am I supposed to know that my skills would be going to a better purpose?" she asked.

"You think your boss has a good purpose for those things he has you steal?" Barton asked, lifting an eyebrow.

"All I know is that the people we're taking them from definitely do not have good intentions. We're keeping them safe. It's not my job to judge or ask questions. "

"No, you're just a smuggler." It sounded patronizing when he said it that way.

"I'm a damn good one," she said defensively.

"We have your file, Aspen," he said, using her first name. "And we know all about Joseph Danners and ARTIFACT. I could tell you stories about him that would curl your hair."

Aspen frowned. "My parents worked for him. They wouldn't have worked for a criminal." Her voice lacked conviction though as she recalled her aunt's warning.

"Ava and Gregor Tolvar? They worked for us," he said. "Danners double-crossed them. He's bluffing if he said differently. He wants something from you."

"What?" Aspen was trying to wrap her mind around what he had just said. "How did he double-cross them? He said they were friends."

"And you believed him? He thinks you have knowledge of what they were working on before they died. He wants that information. Whatever he told you about them was most likely a lie."

"I was three when they died. What would I know?" Aspen asked spitefully. Her thoughts were whirling though. What Barton was saying lined up with what her aunt had just told her.

"He thinks your parents might have hidden their work with you somehow."

"Well I don't have it." She didn't mention that it had been stolen last night or that it had been in her aunt's possession all the time leading up to then.

"We can keep you safe. Believe me. Danners is just going to use you. He's not going to let you out of your contract. Not until he gets what he wants, and we don't want that."

"How can I trust you?" she asked accusingly. "I don't even know who you are or who you work for."

"You can't. I won't make any promises, but I can tell you that I believe we do the right thing. ARTIFACT doesn't."

Aspen shut her eyes for a moment, thinking. She needed to get to the bottom of all this. She needed to talk to Danners. She looked at Barton. "Will you give me a chance to think about it?" she asked. Just to get him off her case.

"I can give you that but if you tell Danners any of this, the deal's off. Then I _will_ have to take you in."

"I won't tell him anything."

"Think about it, Tolvar," Barton said. "I'll be waiting here at nine tonight."

"I'll let you know then." He pushed off from her car, tossing her a grim smile before leaving. Aspen sat thinking for a long time before getting into the car and driving to headquarters. It was time Danners told her just what he knew about her parents and why he had really recruited her.

She felt a twinge of nerves as she stopped before his office doors. She knocked and entered after receiving the usual greeting.

"Ah, Aspen," Danners said when she entered, looking up at her. He had a file open on his desk which she quickly glanced at. She was disappointed when she realized it wasn't her parents' work. Like he would leave that lying open on his desk. "I wasn't expecting you back so early."

"I ran into some trouble – nothing I couldn't handle, but I decided it was safer to skip town. Whatever organization that was took over the entire site. They cleared everyone out and set up a research facility there."

"You snuck in of course."

"I did." She didn't mention she'd been caught. "The hammer was under extreme guard. I never could have reached it. No one could lift it."

"Interesting…"

"Do you know what it is?" she asked.

"Perhaps. Legend says that Thor, god of thunder carried a hammer similar to the one you saw." He pushed the folder across the desk, and she saw that it was a print out of a webpage depicting the mighty Thor wielding a hammer.

"Norse mythology?"

"Correct."

"But it's just mythology. Surely that's not actually Thor's hammer…" Aspen waited for him to laugh and say he was joking, but his face was serious.

"Strange times are coming, Aspen. We would be putting ourselves at risk if we didn't consider the possibility of other life forms outside of Earth."

Aspen gaped at him. Joseph Danners might collect unusual artifacts but he wasn't one to believe in fairy tales. "Alright. So are you going to tell me who was after the hammer?"

"They call themselves SHIELD. They deal in the same sort of thing but they work for the government. You can't trust them."

"Why not?"

"They don't care who they step on to get the job done. They don't give people like you and me the time of day. They would have killed you if they'd caught you."

Aspen's thoughts fluttered to Barton. He might be a little rough around the edges, but he had said that he wouldn't kill her. He'd given her a chance to work for his organization. She didn't trust him, but he also didn't come off as the killer Danners was describing.

"Well, they didn't get me," Aspen said with what she hoped was a convincing shrug. "I was actually hoping you could tell me a little bit more about my parents' work. I was just wondering if SHIELD could possibly know about it."

"Why do you ask?" Danners frowned.

"You said that bad people might be trying to get their hands on it. I guess I just want to know who we're dealing with."

"I wouldn't put it past them to want that information. They would say that they're safe-keeping it, but I wouldn't be surprised if they put it to their own uses."

Aspen was quiet for a moment. She didn't know who to trust. _Trust yourself and only yourself and if you feel like you can't, then you need to do something to change that_, her aunt had always told her growing up. Right now Aspen wasn't even sure if she trusted herself.

"My aunt had some documents," she blurted. "And they were stolen. I just found out."

Danners looked surprised, and Aspen couldn't tell if it was genuine. "When you say documents, you mean…"

"My parents' work. Someone stole my parents' work."

Danners was silent, tapping the tips of his fingers together and staring at the wall. "And you suspect SHIELD has them?"

"I don't know. I don't know who has them but I mean to find out," Aspen told him.

"Does your aunt know who took them?"

"No," she said firmly. She wasn't getting Aunt Vi involved with this. "She doesn't know anything about this."

"Your aunt used to work for SHIELD, did you know that? She was a chemist."

Aspen opened her mouth in astonishment. "What?" Aunt Vi said she used to work for Danners, not SHIELD. A few minutes ago she hadn't even know that SHIELD existed.

"Violet Fengard was one of the top chemists in the country before her sister and brother-in-law's death. After that she quit her job and took to the bottle. Don't underestimate her though. She's got the brain of a genius."

"You seem to know a lot about my aunt that I don't." Her distrust was growing by the minute but she wasn't sure who it was for anymore.

"I've been looking out for your family since your parents died. They meant a lot to me. I know that Violet had some arguments with them. She didn't think that they should be working for me. She used to work for me too, you know, before she moved to SHIELD. If there's one thing I can't stand, it's a jumper. They move from one organization to the next, spreading rumors and secrets. Of course she doesn't have anyone to tell secrets to anymore since she seems to have kept them all from you."

"Is she in danger?" Aspen asked. "I don't want her involved in any of this. She's struggling enough as it is."

"Your aunt was once a friend. I would never dream of letting anything happen to her. SHIELD, however…" He shook his head. "Violet blamed SHIELD for your parents' deaths. She thought they might have had a hand in it."

"You think they caused the explosion?" Aspen asked. Barton knew about her parents, their work. What if he was just trying to get his hands on it? She felt a stab of panic. He knew where she lived…

"I'm not sure. I suppose it's possible. But if they did they would have gotten someone to do it – they don't like to get their hands dirty. Not when they're tied up with the government."

"Aunt Vi never mentioned SHIELD..."

"Has she told you things?" Danners asked a moment later, frowning. "Things about me?"

Aspen felt cornered. She fiddled with the file on Thor that she had long ago forgotten. "Just supposition. She doesn't trust you," she admitted. "But you've never given me any reason not to trust you."

"I trust you too Aspen, and that's why I want you to be honest with me when I ask if you've been speaking with a SHIELD agent."

Aspen felt the blood drain from her face. "Why do you ask that?"

"You were seen."

"You've been watching me."

"Checking up. With so many enemies out there looking for your parents' work, I've wanted to make sure you were safe. Did you meet with a SHIELD agent?" His face was passive, but his voice held a steely malice she hadn't heard before.

"A SHIELD agent did approach me. I have to confess, he sort of caught me in Puente Antiguo, but I got away! I didn't tell him anything about ARTIFACT. Just my name. He somehow managed to track me."

"Did he offer you a job?"

"He did." What was the use denying it? Clearly Danners knew a lot more than she had expected. "I told him I would think about it but just to get him off my back. If I said no he would have taken me in then and there."

"Will you be accepting?" The words hung in the air and the tension that lingered off of them was palpable.

"No."

"You've made the right choice," he said after a long pause. "Do me a favor and take this down to the lockup?" He handed her a wishbone carved out of petrified wood. It seemed like an ordinary stick to her, but if he had acquired it, it was probably anything but. "It's supposedly from the wood used to build Noah's Ark," he told her. "Make sure it's safe." The abrupt change of subject left her feeling a bit dizzy.

"Is that all?" she asked.

"That's all. I'm glad that you're staying. I've called in a few favors and have lined up some college interviews for you in July. We'll find those documents, Aspen. We'll make sure they end up in safe hands."

She nodded, taking the wood carefully in her hand and standing. "Thank you, sir," she said. "I'm sorry if I ever gave any sign of mistrust. I was confused. The man was probably after the serum. He knows where I live… What if he's still there?" She remembered her deal with him, that she'd give him her answer at nine that night. Maybe it would be the perfect opportunity to trap him. They could question him, see what he really wanted. "He said he was coming back at nine for my answer."

"We'll send men to your apartment. Don't worry, Aspen. He won't hurt you."

Aspen smiled in relief, clutching the stick as if she could draw strength from it. "Thank you. I'll go get this sorted." She left the office feeling reassured. Her aunt would have been mistaken about the men who attacked her. She was usually half drunk anyway, and she'd smelled of brandy when Aspen had dropped by earlier. Danners had always been honest with her. She realized that she couldn't wait until August when she'd start college. She could put this all behind her and pretend it never happened.

The storage area was in the basement where every aisle was carefully acclimatized to keep any delicate items safe. She usually just acquired the objects, but occasionally she'd catalogue them. ARTIFACT had experts of course, but sometimes they were short staffed. Employees seemed to come and go though she'd never put much thought to it. She took the elevator down to the basement, placing her hand against the scanner. It beeped in approval and let her into the storage area. The stick would be filed and locked away until a proper buyer was found. She frowned, looking around for the warden. Usually someone was there to monitor all comings and goings. The lock up was unusually quiet. She set the wood down on a worktable and wandered down some of the aisles. The air was thicker the further into the room she went, and she began to cough. She caught a whiff of a sickly sweet scent as she reached the last aisle. She pulled her shirt over her mouth and nose and ran back to the gate, pulling on the handle. It was locked. She tried her hand on the scanner but it was denied, blinking the word up at her in red letters. What was happening?

She looked around frantically. There had to be a way out. She ran down the aisles until she saw a ventilation shaft on one wall. She stood on tiptoe to reach it, putting her fingers through the metal grate. The air was fresh, and she could breathe a little better. She looked up and saw a hazy blur around the vents on the ceiling. Clearly that was where the toxic air was being pumped in. She pulled at the vent in front of her, but it wouldn't budge. She was getting lightheaded, and she knew if she didn't reach fresh air soon she would pass out. Suddenly there was a jolt. The building seemed to tremble. She stumbled back against one of the ceiling high storage units. There was a shout from somewhere up above her. She was feeling so lightheaded she could hardly think. She tried to stay conscious, but it was a losing battle. She fell to her knees, vision going blurry. Then the grate to the vent flew across the room with a violent force. She looked up to see a pair of boots coming out and then a body. Her vision darkened, and she swayed.

"Hey, I gotcha. You're gonna be alright," a man's voice said. She saw a face with a cloth pulled up over the mouth and nose. Then she lost consciousness.

…

She awoke to a sharp slap to the face. She opened her eyes at once, looking around. Barton knelt before her, grey eyes narrowed in worry. "You!" she accused.

He smiled grimly. "Me. I just saved you down there, so you might want to be grateful."

"Danners is trying to kill me," Aspen said, her voice week. "I was so stupid. My aunt warned me…" She put her face in her hands. Just a few minutes ago she'd been nodding along to his plans to get her interviews to colleges. All along he was sending her to her death. "Why?"

"Danners is evil. You don't know enough to scratch the surface of ARTIFACT, just the lies he's fed you. Danners has always been after your parents' work. I tried to tell you. Danners realized that you were going to figure it out sooner or later. You might be naïve, but you're not dumb. He knows that."

"How did you know to follow? I thought we were meeting tonight."

"I thought he might try to pull something like this. I realized after you left that we'd been seen talking. Danners knows all about SHIELD. He wouldn't want to risk you giving away ARTIFACT's secrets if you agreed to join." Another jolt rocked the building. "We need to get you out of here." Aspen realized they were in a deserted corridor but definitely still in the building. "I set off some detonators outside to keep them busy. I need to get something out of Danners's office before we go."

"What?"

"Classified, sorry," he said, shrugging. He stood and held out a hand. She took it and he hauled her to her feet. "If you join my organization, I might reconsider."

"After this, I'm done with ARTIFACT." She shook her head, clearing it a little more.

"Deal. Where's his office?" Barton asked.

"This way." Aspen led Barton through the hallways. Occasionally some of the ARTIFACT employees ran past, but none of them paid the least bit of attention to them. When they reached the office, Aspen hesitated outside the door. Barton lifted his gun and nodded for her to open it. She took a deep breath and swung it open. The office was empty. They entered quickly, and Aspen shut the doors behind them. "Keep a look out," Barton said, shuffling through the papers in Danners's desk. Aspen nodded. Her eyes caught something silver gleaming. The cuffs that would subdue a supernatural power. She went swiftly over to the case and lifted them out. Danners had no right to these. She was the one who had retrieved them. She stuffed them into her pocket, feeling a bit like a child stealing candy. Something else had occurred to her in that moment though. If Danners really did have her parents' research and therefore the ability to give a person full use of their brain, cuffs like this might come in handy one day.

"Got it," Barton said, tucking a folder into his jacket.

"My parents' work?" Aspen asked.

"He has it?" Barton looked alarmed.

"Someone stole it from my aunt. She thought the people worked for Danners. I should have listened to her…"

"No time for regret. If Danners has it then that's bad, but right now we need to get out of here. I called for backup, but right now my priority is getting you to safety." He urged Aspen toward the window.

The sound of shattering glass stopped them. "What was that?"

"They're taking down the building. They know they've been compromised," Barton said. "SHIELD will be swarming this place when they get here." He went over to one of the windows and kicked out the glass until the hole was big enough to fit through.

"We're six stories up, are you crazy?" Aspen asked.

Barton shook his head, pulling his bow off his back. "Not crazy. This is the fastest way out." He notched an arrow and motioned for her to come over. Aspen had never seen an arrow quite like the one Barton was now about to use. He aimed at the outside of the building adjacent to them and shot. The arrow transformed, turning into an anchor of some sort and attaching itself to the wall. A thin line ran back to the bow. Barton attached the end of the line to the ceiling using a similar anchor.

"We do this together," he said, holding out an arm. She came forward, and he wrapped his arm around her waist. She put hers around his shoulder. He hooked the bow around the fine wire so that they could glide across the wire with it.

"Is that wire strong enough for both of us?" she asked nervously.

"It'll hold a lot more weight than the both of us," he assured her. "Hold on." They stepped up onto the windowsill and then jumped. Aspen threw her other arm around Barton as they streaked downward. When they were close to the ground, Barton unhooked his bow and they landed hard, both rolling to their feet – Barton much more gracefully than her.

"My car," Aspen said. They sprinted toward where it was parked. They had nearly reached it when gunshots rang out behind them. One whizzed so close to Aspen's ear that she felt its flight. They dove behind a black sedan. "Great, now they're shooting at us." Aspen peered out from behind the car. She couldn't see the shooter. "Can we make it?" she asked.

Barton's eyes traveled to her car. "In steps," he said. "One car at a time." He readied himself. "Ready?"

She gave him a curt nod. Then they ran for it, diving behind the next car as a shower of ammo came flying after them. One hit the tire and the car sunk a little lower. "Do you do this a lot?" Aspen asked, glancing at Barton. He shrugged.

"It's kind of part of my job," he told her. "And ARTIFACT definitely hates SHIELD."

"What is your job exactly?"

His grey eyes danced with humor. "If I told you, I'd have to kill you."

"I said I'd join your organization and besides, you promised you wouldn't kill me," she said as a bullet ricocheted off the car. "Although they might do the job for you."

"Next car." They ran for it, ducking down. Aspen felt a sharp pain in her right arm. As she threw herself behind an SUV, she looked down to see blood welling up. The bullet had only grazed her arm, but it stung.

"This isn't as easy as it looks in the movies," she said, trying to make light of it. This wasn't the first time she'd been shot. She'd taken a bullet to the shoulder once and had had to keep running for twenty minutes before she could get the bullet removed. Right now she had no idea how many people were shooting at them or where they were. She peered around the edge of the SUV. Her car was parked behind another SUV giving them the perfect coverage. All the ARTIFACT cars were bullet proof. If they could get in her car, they could escape.

"One more run," Barton told her. "Ready?" His eyes flitted over her bleeding arm.

"Ready." They ran in unison, Aspen clicking the automatic lock button on her keys and Barton flinging himself into the passenger side. Aspen revved the engine and tore out of the lot. Gunshots followed them, bouncing off the side of the car. She sped toward the gates. "They're closed!" she cried in dismay.

"Hang on." Barton rolled down the window and stuck his bow out. He had to lean half his body out of the car to draw back, but he managed to notch an arrow. He shot it straight at the middle of the metal gates. As soon as the arrow hit its mark, the gates exploded, flying off their hinges. They were still in the air when Aspen's Audi streaked through the now unhindered entrance. Barton pulled himself and his bow back into the car and shut the window. Aspen glanced back in the rearview mirror to see several of the SUVs in motion. The building was now in flames and the ARTIFACT employees were making a run for it. A moment later the building exploded. The rubble was flung into the road, and Aspen jerked the wheel to avoid it. She wondered if they'd gotten the artifacts out first. Probably. Joseph Danners was nothing if not prepared.

"My aunt!" Aspen cried out suddenly.

"No time to get her, we're being followed," Barton said grimly.

"We need to get her! Danners will hurt her if we don't. I don't trust his promises anymore."

"At least you learned something. They'll know you're going there though. There might be someone waiting."

"I don't care! She's family."

Barton frowned, thinking and then gave a curt nod. "If you're fast, and I mean_ fast_, I can cover you while you get her."

"I'll be fast." She drove as quickly as she dared, slowing only when she reached the city. She took a short cut to her aunt's house, pressing the speed limit. The SUVs following her had fallen back in the lunch hour traffic, but Aspen knew they'd catch up soon. She screeched to a halt in front of her aunt's house and leapt out of the car, ignoring the stabbing pain in her arm. She flung the door open and ran in.

"Aunt Vi! Aunt Vi we need to go! Danners is after me. He'll hurt you too. Aunt Vi?" She ran upstairs but the house was empty. She went into the office and noticed a note taped to the front of the safe.

**Get to safety. Don't worry about me. I can take care of myself. – Aunt Vi**

Aspen hoped that her aunt really did know what she was doing. She lunged out of the house just as the SUVs turned the corner. Barton had taken over the wheel and flung open the passenger door. "Go!" Aspen said as she flung herself into the car.

Barton stepped on the gas, and they were speeding away from her aunt's house, the SUVs in hot pursuit. "She wasn't there?" he asked, knuckles clenched on the wheel.

"She was gone but she left a note. She told me to get to safety and that she could take care of herself."

"She can, you know."

"Why does everyone seem to know more about my family than I do?" Aspen asked with a hysterical laugh.

"Because you've been protected your entire life. That isn't a bad thing."

"It feels like it. I feel like I have no idea of who I am or who my parents were."

"Well that's about to change because I'm not ever going to lie to you, Aspen," Barton assured her. "SHIELD is alright. They gave me a second chance when I needed it. You made the right choice."

"Where are we going?" she asked.

"New York," Barton told her. "Welcome to SHIELD."


	5. History Lesson

**Author's Note: 5/1/14 **Thank you so much for all the wonderful reviews! Just to know that people are enjoying my story makes me so happy! I hope Aspen's a likable character. She gets an introduction to a certain character (not in person) who will be playing a very important role in part three. We'll get to see a lot more missions that Clint and Aspen go on together later on too. I'm not gonna lie - I would take archery lessons from him any day. I included a little bit of his background in here that we don't get to see in the movies, and I have a feeling we'll be going even deeper into his past further along. Enjoy and please leave a review on your way out if you have time!

* * *

**4 – History Lesson – June 7, 2011**

The next few weeks were a blur. She officially joined SHIELD, signing all the proper paperwork and secrecy acts. SHIELD wasn't your typical agency but it felt so right compared to ARTIFACT. Strategic Homeland Intervention Enforcement and Logistics Division was its full name, Agent Phil Coulson told her, shaking her hand. She stuck with SHIELD. Everyone seemed to be aware of her former employer and just what she had done for him. She'd thought ARTIFACT was secretive, but it was clearly on SHIELD's radar and for good reason. She learned more in those two weeks about ARTIFACT than she had learned in the three years she had worked there. It made her feel dirty thinking about all the things she had collected for Joseph Danners after learning of his connections to several terrorist cells and enemy organizations. She'd met Director Fury, finding the one-eyed man to be insanely intimidating. Maybe it was the patch over his left eye or the fact that she had never seen him smile. He had that whole 'don't mess with me, I look like a bad-ass pirate feel' that made Aspen want to melt into the floor whenever he looked at her. She felt scrutinized under his gaze and knew she would have to work hard to earn his respect and trust.

"I want a clean start," she told Coulson as she sat in his office during her second visit to SHIELD headquarters. Barton – whose first name was Clint she had learned – sat next to her, having presented her as a viable new agent.

"We need to take ARTIFACT down," Coulson told her. "It's not going to be easy, but with your help, it might just be possible."

"Did you send agents down to Arizona?" Aspen asked.

"We did. Anything that might have been left was destroyed in the explosion. They were very thorough."

"How did they know? I mean, they had tons of stuff down there. How did they get it out so quickly?" Aspen asked.

"I have a feeling Joseph Danners was planning this for some time. He knew we were close to catching his scent; it was just a matter of time until we found him."

"He knew I'd met with Agent Barton."

"That got him scared. Now he's beyond our radar. We have multiple agents out looking for him, but so far nothing's turned up. But don't worry, we'll find him." He sounded calmly confident, and Aspen believed him.

"What can I do to help?"

"We need to start from the outside and work our way in," he told her. "Intercept what goods ARTIFACT is trying to acquire. We don't want them getting their hands on anything that could be used against us."

"What sorts of things?" Aspen asked.

"Well, there's one thing in particular he may be looking for. Fortunately we have it safely locked away, but there are other relics out there that could become potentially hazardous in the wrong hands."

"So you want me to do exactly what I did for him only steal for you?" Aspen asked, laying it out.

"We like to think of it as repaying your debt to society," Coulson said with a smile.

"I have nothing against stealing from Danners. I just want you to be honest with me. I can take it."

"Then here's your first assignment, Miss Tolvar." Coulson slid a folder across the table. "The cargo ship isn't due to arrive until next Tuesday, but I thought this was a good time for you to get acquainted with what you'll be doing. This time you'll have help. Agent Barton will be joining you. He will be your supervising officer as we get you started at SHIELD. Work a few successful missions and pass a few tests, and we'll get you a level one SHIELD badge."

Aspen looked over at Barton who was looking inscrutable as usual. She felt like getting to know him was going to be impossible. "I work better alone," she said, hoping it wouldn't come off as sounding standoffish. "It's just the way I was trained."

"Well you have a week to learn how to work as a team," Coulson told her. "I'll be overseeing the operation. Barton will help execute. This isn't ARTIFACT, Miss Tolvar. We do things differently here."

Aspen nodded. "Understood," she said.

"Good." Coulson stood. "Let's get started."

…

A week later she was getting the hang of working with someone. Barton worked with her on her stealth and fighting skills, and they'd learned each other's styles and how to work together as a team. Barton was highly skilled at archery as Aspen had learned while they were escaping ARTIFACT headquarters. He was also skilled at hand-to-hand combat and moved more quickly and silently than anyone Aspen had met before. She felt clumsy and loud next to him, but he worked patiently with her while she honed her skills. It didn't take long for her to mimic the way he moved and melt into the shadows as he did though she didn't think she'd ever master it like him.

She learned pretty quickly that he wasn't the stern, silent type she'd first thought him to be. He had a sense of humor and was not afraid to use it. It had taken her by surprise the first time he had cracked a joke, but pretty soon she was used to it. It was second nature to him, and she found herself warming up to him quicker than anyone she had ever met before. She felt like they worked well together, and he was the best mentor she'd ever had. He never shouted or got impatient, just corrected her with his gentle voice. She would not want to be his enemy, however, she quickly learned. He was one of SHIELD's top agents after all.

"Why did you join SHIELD?" Aspen asked him one day after a training session. He gave her a serious look as if trying to decide whether or not to tell her and then turned back to waxing his bowstring. "You mentioned them giving you a second chance," she added, hoping he would open up to her. He seemed to know all about her after all.

"Like you I didn't always work for the good guys. I made some mistakes, and SHIELD gave me the chance to make up for them. Just like you."

"Do you have a family?" she asked.

"Not anymore." He didn't elaborate, and Aspen didn't press him.

"I understand that," she said instead. "I really do."

He didn't look up from what he was doing. Aspen reached out and touched her arm, surprising both of them with the gesture. "Thanks, Aspen," he said, giving her a small nod. "I appreciate you not digging too. Maybe one day I'll tell you the whole story."

"I'd like that."

Tuesday came and it was time for their mission. Aspen was feeling jittery when she hopped into the van Barton was driving. She wasn't sure why. Working for ARTIFACT, she had simply gotten used to going on missions. It had been second nature, but now she was working for SHIELD and going up against the agency that had employed her for three years. It was a bit frightening. She didn't want to sound scared, so she kept this to herself as Barton drove toward the harbor. They'd gone over the plan so many times that Aspen had it memorized. They'd looked at a map of the docks and even gone there one afternoon to scope out the area. She knew what she was doing. Why was she feeling so nervous then?

"Relax," Barton said as if sensing her tension. "You can do this. You've done it before."

"Yeah, but never _against_ ARTIFACT. These guys trained me."

"And now I've trained you. We've got this."

"Do you usually go on missions like this?" Aspen asked, trying to ease her nerves through conversation.

"Sometimes. Other times it's a little more complicated."

"Like?"

"Like taking down national threats or infiltrating enemy bases."

"Will I have to do that?" she asked. "Because I've never gone into a mission like that before. I'm a smuggler, not a spy."

"For now you're useful right here. Once you become an official SHIELD agent, we can train you to use your skills elsewhere if you want."

"Well I don't want to be a smuggler forever."

They fell silent as they neared the docks. The cargo was coming from somewhere in Russia. ARTIFACT agents had met it halfway and were driving it to somewhere in New Hampshire. Barton and Aspen would intercept the goods, and SHIELD would come in for clean up. As far as Aspen was concerned, no more valuables were going to find their way into Danners's hands. Some of the people he'd been selling them to were unstable, and Aspen didn't want anyone getting hurt because she had brought an item back to him. This needed to end. She still felt sick with her naivety, and no one tried to correct her so she knew they were thinking the same thing. She had messed up, but if she could turn it around, fight against Danners, maybe, just maybe she could make up for her mistakes.

Barton parked in an alleyway, and they jumped out of the van. He had his bow and she had her dart guns only an improved model that had a longer range and could shoot more than one dart at a time. They were both dressed in black cargo pants and bulletproof vests. Aspen had tied her red hair back and shoved her cap over her head. Her pilfered cap and dart guns had been the only thing she'd brought from Arizona. She'd never made it back to her apartment. She tried not to think about the family photos lying on her bedside table.

When they reached the docks, they separated, each taking a side. The plan was to incapacitate the crew (six men and four guards) and grab the cargo. It was supposed to be an easy in/out job, but Aspen always prepared herself for the worst. This was her first mission since joining SHIELD, her first mission working with someone. She wasn't sure what the outcome would be.

She hid in the shadows as she surveyed the scene before her. Six men were working on loading cargo into a black van. Four guards surrounded the van, each holding a gun. Aspen would be taking out the guards while Barton took out the workers. She lifted her dart gun, looking through the tiny sight built into the top before aiming. She targeted the four guards and pulled the trigger. She had practiced with the multi-shot dart gun, but seeing it in action was something else. The darts targeted the guards' body warmth, and two of the darts took their flight around the van. All four guards slumped to the ground at the same time. Barton began his attack a split second later. Aspen watched in awe as he took down three of the guards in two seconds. The other two were down before she could even try to help him. Clearly he didn't need help. When the last guard was down, Aspen ran forward and helped Barton lift the crates into the van. SHIELD agents were ready to take the men into custody. Barton got behind the wheel and Aspen hopped in the passenger seat just as the agents came onto the scene.

"Well done," Barton told her. "You just successfully completed your first mission as a SHIELD agent in-training."

Aspen couldn't help the grin that grew on her face. "Not too bad," she said. "Now what? Do I get a gold star?"

"We might be able to swing that. First we get this load back to SHIELD. We need to see what ARTIFACT was so eager to get its hands on."

He drove them back to headquarters, pulling up to a loading dock where SHIELD workers started unloading the crates. There were ten in total. Barton and Aspen oversaw the operation, Aspen using a specialized x-ray to see what was in each crate.

"Holy crap," she said. Barton lifted an eyebrow at her. "There are weapons in all of these." She opened one of the boxes and pulled an odd looking weapon out of the packing material. It was a gun but not like any she'd ever seen. It seemed to glow with some sort of blue energy. She held it out before her like it might explode at any moment. Barton's eyes widened.

"What _is_ that?" he asked.

"I'm not sure," Aspen said. "But if we don't understand it, we should be careful. I don't think we need to know anything about these weapons to know that they're dangerous." She replaced the gun in the box. "I can look into what their power source is," she told him. "With a lab and your permission of course."

"You'll need Fury's permission, but if you take after your parents, you might be the best person for the job." Barton nodded to the workmen. "Get these down to lab number four. Let's go speak with Fury," he told Aspen.

They took the now familiar route to his office, Aspen trying not to feel intimidated. She'd yet to see Fury crack a smile. "Agent Barton, Miss Tolvar, how did the mission go?" he asked when they entered his office.

"Smoothly, no hitches," Barton answered. "But what we collected is something else. Guns. They seem to be powered by some sort of blue energy we can't identify without taking a closer look. The weapons themselves look outdated. I'd say World War II, but they're advanced for that time."

"I was hoping I could look into them, sir," Aspen spoke up. "I'm happy to help with these operations, but I also have a background in science."

"Your parents were quite talented," Fury said, turning his eye on her. "You think you can find out more about these weapons?"

"I'd like to try," she said.

"Then you have my permission. Agent Barton can show you where the labs are. I'll send one of my scientists down to help."

Aspen was about to protest that she didn't need the help, but thought better and nodded. "Thank you, sir."

They took their leave, and Barton led Aspen down to the science labs. Aspen looked around her in awe as they entered lab four. It had all the tools she'd secretly wished she could have when she was in middle school and had first discovered her love for science. She familiarized herself with the room and the equipment while Barton watched her with an amused expression.

"Looks like Christmas came early for someone," he said, smirking. She cast him a look.

"Don't you have something else to be doing?" she asked.

"Trying to get rid of your partner already?"

Their banter was cut off when a crisply dressed girl stepped into the room. She wore a white lab coat over a plaid cardigan and had a pair of goggles around her neck. "Aspen Tolvar?" she asked, stepping past Barton who looked a little annoyed. "_The_ Aspen Tolvar?" She spoke with a British accent and wore a grin that was akin to a child meeting her hero.

"Er, yes?" Aspen's reply came out as more of a question. She looked at Barton questioningly, but he shrugged.

"I am a _huge_ fan of your parents' work. Their theories on neurological stimulation are genius. I studied their work at university."

"Thank you," Aspen said as if she could take the credit for that.

"I'm Jemma Simmons," the girl said holding out a hand for Aspen to shake. "SHIELD scientist. Coulson sent me to help you with these weapons."

"Do you know much about weaponry?" Aspen asked.

"Not a thing!" Jemma replied in a chipper voice.

"Er, okay, well then I guess we'll just have to tread cautiously."

"You two have fun. I'll swing by and check on you later," Barton said, giving Aspen a wink.

"Bring a weapon specialist with you!" Aspen called after him. She turned back to Jemma who was still grinning. "Er, alright. I guess we'll get started," Aspen said. She'd always worked alone in science class. Her classmates were usually so far behind her that her teacher had given her permission to do her own experiments. Now she'd see what it was like to work with an actual scientist. Jemma didn't look like she could be much older than Aspen. She wanted to ask just how old she was, but resisted. "So what university did you go to?" she asked as she opened one of the boxes that held the guns.

"SHIELD Academy of Science and Technology," she replied proudly. Aspen had never heard of it but smiled and nodded. It sounded impressive. "Where did you study?"

"Uh, I haven't actually been to college yet. I was going to be starting in August, but my life took a very unexpected turn, and now I'm not sure if college is a plan at all."

"That's too bad. I'm sure SHIELD would put you through school. Someone with parents like yours could get into any university."

"I didn't realize they were so famous," Aspen said, setting the gun down on the worktable.

"Oh in the science world they're renowned," Jemma assured her. "I'm so sorry about the accident. I know it was a long time ago, but that must have been really hard for you. I'm sure they'd be proud knowing you're working for SHIELD now."

"How long did they work for SHIELD, do you know?" Aspen asked. She hadn't yet asked Fury or Coulson about her parents. Maybe after she attained level one status she could start stirring the waters.

"Several years, I think. They were on the verge of a very important discovery, but they never got to publish their findings."

"I didn't even realize they worked for SHIELD until a few weeks ago."

"I heard Agent Barton saved you from a burning building, is that true?" Jemma asked, eyes wide.

"He did save my life."

"I've always found him a little intimidating to be frank."

"He's pretty cool when you get to know him." Aspen smiled. "Okay, let's get to work." She wasn't sure if the energy was volatile so she took precautions and put on gloves, a lab coat, and goggles. She took a reading of the energy, but it came up as 'unknown.' Jemma took notes, suggesting things here and there. They needed to somehow separate the energy from the weapon if they were going to study it, but Aspen had no idea how to do that.

"We don't know if it's stable or not, so we need to be very careful," Jemma told her. "It would help if we knew more about the weapons themselves."

"Any luck?" Barton's voice startled Aspen and Jemma. Aspen realized they'd been discussing the energy for over an hour now.

"Not so far," Aspen replied. "Where did these things come from?"

"Germany," he replied. "They're circa World War II." At Aspen's look of surprise, he added, "Coulson knows a thing or two about World War II. Don't even get him started."

"_These_ are from the 1940s?" she asked. "I've never seen such advanced weaponry before. I wonder what they can do?"

"Why don't we find out?"

"Is that safe?" Aspen exchanged a look with Jemma who shrugged.

"We'll take precautions." Barton nodded for her to grab the gun. She set aside her lab clothes and hefted the gun.

"I'll just wait here," Jemma said, looking a little apprehensive.

"I'll be back." Aspen followed Barton down to the shooting range where she'd seen him practice archery. He pulled out a dummy with a target on the front and set it at one end of the range.

He joined her. "Try to fire it."

"Is that safe?" she asked, cocking an eyebrow. "It's not going to blow up in our faces, is it?"

"Believe me, the technology used to make these things isn't going to backfire."

"Whose tech is it?" Aspen asked with a frown.

"Let's just say it's a good thing we got our hands on them first."

That didn't answer her question. Aspen wanted to ask more, but she also wanted to see what the gun could do. She aimed and fired. The gun took a second to react. It was like waiting for a machine to warm up. The blue glow grew and then exploded from the front of the gun. Aspen felt hands on her shoulders steadying her as she jolted back a step. Her eyes were on the dummy though. As soon as the blue ray had hit it, the entire thing had exploded into nothing. Only scraps of the material fluttered to the floor. The gun itself seemed to splutter a little and the light weakened and died as if the energy had run out.

"Whoa…" Aspen looked up at Barton. "You've got some explaining to do Barton," she said. "I'm not experimenting with this thing until you tell me what it is and where it came from."

"Fair enough," he said. "Put that back where it came from and follow me."

…

Ten minutes later they were headed out the front doors of SHIELD and toward Barton's car. "Where are we going?" Aspen asked. "Wouldn't everything we need to know be in there?" She motioned back to the building.

"This whole thing didn't start here," he said, opening the driver's door. "It started a long time ago. I just think it's best if we go somewhere that will help you to understand."

Aspen stared after him, more confused than ever. "I hope this is worth it," she said, sliding into the car.

"It will be." He drove them into the city, and Aspen took a moment to appreciate the skyscrapers and monuments she'd always wanted to see. It was nothing like phoenix. She loved the bustle of the city and the even climate. She loved that she felt as if she could hide away within the hoards of people. No one was looking for her. No one would find her here. At least that was what she told herself.

Barton stopped in front of a museum and parked on the curb. Aspen lifted an eyebrow. "You're taking me to the museum?" she asked. "Are we learning about dinosaurs today?"

Barton threw her an exasperated look before getting out of the car. "Just a lesson in history." He paid for their admission and led her to a quiet section of the museum. "Here," he said, waving a hand at the exhibits.

Everything around them was red, white, and blue. **Captain America**, the exhibit read in bold font. There was a display underneath with World War II circa clothing. Aspen turned to Barton. "Who is Captain America and what does this have to do with those guns?" Her tone came out accusatory, but it had been a long day, and she was tired.

"Keep reading," he told her. "You haven't heard of Captain America?" he added, sounding disbelieving.

"Should I have?"

"He's only a legend. He lived during World War II. He was the first, and last, soldier successfully injected with a Super Soldier Serum that made him stronger and faster – basically human perfection. He became a symbol of hope for America during the war. He helped take down Hydra's leader Johann Schmidt."

"I've heard of the serum. What's Hydra?"

"They're the ones who invented those guns, Aspen. Hydra was Hitler's research division until Schmidt decided to go rogue. He and his colleague Arnim Zola invented weapons like those guns. We didn't realize that any of them had survived."

"So Hydra developed these weapons during the war, but if they weren't in support of Hitler anymore then how were they going to use them?"

"To take over the world. You see, Schmidt was actually the first to receive the Super Soldier Serum. It corrupted him though. He wanted more power. Captain Rogers, or Captain America as this country knows him as, took down Schmidt. No one is sure of what exactly happened, but in the end, Rogers crashed the plane carrying all of Schmidt's nuclear weapons into the Arctic. He saved the world." He motioned toward a picture of a large plane titled 'Valkyrie.'

"He sacrificed himself?" Aspen was looking at the black and white photo of Steve Rogers. It showed him before being injected by the super solider serum and afterwards. Before he looked just like a normal guy off the street, skinny and a little short, but normal. After he looked like a model for Abercrombie and Fitch except his face – there was something noble and kind in his eyes that hadn't changed from the before picture. He looked like the kind of person she might like to meet.

"Sometimes that's what the job calls for."

"So why are you showing me all of this?" Aspen asked, turning away from the photos of the Captain Rogers.

"Because you need to know what's out there."

"You mean to say that Hydra is still out there?" she asked.

"We don't know," he answered. "If their technology is still out there then we have to assume that there might still be someone out there who still supports their ideals."

"You think Danners is a part of all that?"

"It's possible, but he strikes me as more of a provider. He works in trade and the black market. He doesn't like to get his own hands dirty."

"No, he hires people like me to do that," Aspen said bitterly.

"We need to figure out what makes these weapons tick. Clearly they can't run forever. They need to recharge eventually. I suppose they were dormant all these years."

"Why do we need to know this?" Aspen asked. "That kind of weapon would be catastrophic in the wrong hands. I say we destroy them."

Barton shot her a hard look, grabbing her arm and steering her away from an incoming tour group. "It's not up to me what happens to them," he told her.

"Then who is it up to? We're the ones who retrieved them."

He sighed, letting go of her arm. "Fury gave me direct orders to investigate the source of the weapons' power. He gave you the same order. There's someone looking into the weapons, but for now he wants to keep the energy within our small circle. You and Simmons are going to be leading the study on it."

"Fine," Aspen said. "I need somewhere safe to work. Somewhere where I don't have to come in direct contact with the material."

"No problem."

Aspen glanced back at the Captain America exhibit before following Barton out of the museum. She was quiet on the way back to SHIELD, contemplating the information she had learned. There was true evil in the world; she knew that, but she wasn't sure how far she was willing to go to defeat it. She was tired of fighting. She was tired of stealing things and finding out secrets. She wanted a normal life. At least ARTIFACT had offered her a way out. And then tried to kill her, she reminded herself grimly. Not the way out she'd been expecting. She still wanted to go to college, but she owed Barton her life so helping out SHIELD was the least she could do.

Back at the lab, she placed one of the guns with remaining energy into a safe container where she could mechanically take apart the gun from the other side of a thick sheet of glass. Barton had spoken with Fury and the glass box had appeared in lab four. It was similar to a claw machine where you tried to grab stuffed animals only much larger and stronger. Jemma stood by as she put on her goggles and started up the machine, taking apart the gun and analyzing the parts. The computer read over the blueprints and came up with a model that she could send down to ballistics to study. She was nearing the source of power now. She saw that it was a tiny little particle that hovered in the air after she had stripped away the parts of the gun. She ran another scan on it, waiting impatiently as the computer read its energy. It beeped and something popped up on the screen.

"Low levels of gamma-radiation," Jemma read aloud. "Interesting…" She started writing on her clipboard again without elaborating.

This wasn't Aspen's area of expertise, and it didn't tell her what it was. Feeling frustrated, she reached the metal claws out to touch it. As soon as the metal touched the energy, it exploded outward with such a violent force that the glass cracked. Aspen leapt back and Jemma let out a high-pitched yelp. The particle hovered in the air, unharmed.

Aspen had no idea what she was dealing with, but she knew that destroying the weapons might not be possible. Once the weapons had used up the remaining energy, they could be taken apart, but this raw energy was a power in and of itself. The metal claws that had tried to grab it were now singed away as if they'd been dipped in battery acid. She typed a code into the machine and fed a glass jar into it. The damaged claws retracted and the glass jar was brought up to contain the energy. She and Jemma stared at it as if it was going to explode again. When it wasn't directly touched, it seemed to be fine though. Aspen brought the jar out and set it in a cabinet behind her desk which could be locked.

"Why don't we call it a day?" she told Jemma a little shakily. "I'm going to go have a chat with Fury." She left the other weapons where they were and left the lab to find Fury.

He was sitting in his office looking over something on his desk. He put the papers away when she entered with a knock.

"Tolvar, do you have a report on the weapons?" he asked.

"Whatever energy form is in them is very volatile," she told him. "You can't just reach out and touch it. I got a reading of some gamma-radiation, but not much. The guns seem to rely on the energy, but they also appear to need recharging. I tried shooting one in the shooting range, and it completely destroyed the target. I mean, it was like it had simply disintegrated. I don't know what we're dealing with, but I think we should proceed with extreme caution. Locking them up would probably be the best option really."

"That's not your decision to make," Fury told her.

"With all due respect, sir, they're dangerous."

"If you would like to be reassigned…" Fury said, leaving the suggestion open.

Aspen huffed. "I just want to know what you're going to use them for once I figure out more about them. Why are we looking into them?"

"Who says we're going to use them for anything?" he countered. "We simply want to know what the energy is and what it does. We need to make sure it doesn't fall into the wrong hands."

"I'll keep studying it," Aspen told him. "But I'm not turning it into another weapon."

There was something like scrutiny in Fury's eye, but it disappeared after a split second. Aspen knew it wasn't her place to question why he wanted to know more about the energy.

"Let me know if you learn anything more about it," he told her, looking back down at his papers in a clear dismissal.

"I will, sir," she said. There was more to this than Fury was telling, she knew that much. There was something about the look in his eye when she had mentioned turning the energy into another weapon. She knew what that look had been now: fear. Fear that she knew something that she shouldn't. She had inadvertently touched upon something she shouldn't have, and she was going to find out just what that was. No more secrets. She'd had secrets kept from her her entire life. She was not going to allow SHIELD to do the same.


	6. Superhero Serum

**5 – Superhero Serum – June 30, 2011**

Twenty-three days working for SHIELD gave Aspen a pretty good idea of how little she really knew about the organization. Barton told her she was doing good. Coulson told her she was turning her life around. Fury said she might make an agent after all. But she wondered how this was any different from what she had been doing before. Sure, she was confiscating not stealing but she was still a little blurry on how SHIELD had the authority to do that. She'd been on four more short missions with Barton since her last but had spent most of the rest of her time experimenting with the Unknown Element as she had begun to call it. Jemma was a great help, always enthusiastic and insightful but even she wasn't quite sure what it was. They had learned a little of its nature, but they couldn't fathom where it came from. It was such a small part, like an atom, and they wondered if it came from a bigger source. It seemed to grow dimmer each day that they worked with it as if it needed to recharge. Aspen had extracted all the energy left from the weapons and placed them in individual glass containers. She was holding off on putting them together to see how they would react after her first fiasco. The glass that had been cracked had been replaced, but she was hesitant to test the energies together.

"You missed our pool date," a voice said from the doorway.

"What?" Aspen pulled her attention away from the microscope she had been looking through. Jemma was gone. Aspen vaguely remembered her saying something about going to a meeting and now Barton was leaning against the doorway, a smirk on his face. "When did I agree to that?"

"I said last week that you've been working too hard and we should go do something when I'm not on a mission. You mumbled something that sounded like 'sure' and then nothing ever came of it. I'm renewing my offer."

"Pool? I've never played." She scribbled down a note and filed it into a folder.

"You work way too hard, Tolvar," he told her. "You've been pouring yourself into that blue ball and you don't even know what it is."

"Three weeks ago you were taking me to the museum explaining how serious this might be and now you're telling me I'm being _too_ serious about it?" she asked.

He sighed. "Have you looked at yourself in the mirror lately?" he asked, coming forward and pulling the folder from her hands. "You have bags under your eyes and you look like you haven't eaten in days. You're living off of coffee and bagels bites."

"I have a job to do, I'm doing it. I don't see where I err."

"Just take one night off. Even I do sometimes."

"Fine. Teach me to shoot pool or whatever. I could use a night off, I guess."

"You guess? Well that's a relief. I thought I was going to have to bodily drag you from this room and force fun down your throat."

She lifted an eyebrow. "Just because I don't go on as many missions as you doesn't mean you could take me that easy."

He just smirked. "Come on."

Aspen sighed, shrugging off her lab coat and turning off the lights before locking the door. She followed Barton out to his car, strapping herself in while he drove into the city. "I think Fury is hiding something," Aspen said. She wasn't sure she could trust him. He wasn't anything like Danners, but he had his own agenda, and Aspen wasn't sure she liked it. She turned to survey Barton whose lips were turned down in a frown. He glanced at her.

"What makes you say that?" he asked.

"He tells me to keep studying this thing and yet I've learned little to nothing about it. Ballistics looked over the guns and said that they were built specially for the energy. There's really nothing more I can learn about it. Even Jemma who had a degree in chemistry has no idea what it is. I just get the feeling there's more of a reason behind him wanting to know about it than pure and simple knowledge."

"I'm sure Fury has his own reasons for wanting to know more about the element. These weapons once belonged to Hydra. Schmidt nearly destroyed the world with them. He wants to make sure that never happens again. Besides, you were the one who wanted to study them. I'm not sure why you're so bothered."

Aspen fell silent. She knew Barton had a point. No one wanted another massacre like that. "I just hope this thing doesn't come back and bite us," she said finally. "I don't want to be responsible for something like that."

"You won't be," he assured her.

"You can't be sure of that. I haven't stopped feeling responsible for all that I did for ARTIFACT. I know I didn't mean to do wrong, but I still did."

"You'll make up for that some day," Barton assured her.

He pulled up to a bar and shut off the engine. Aspen lifted an eyebrow. "A bar? Is this supposed to make me loosen up?"

"You don't have to drink, just play pool and try to relax. You are twenty-one, aren't you?"

"Yes." She'd celebrated a quiet birthday nine days ago, not wanting to call out attention to herself. Somehow Jemma had found out anyway and brought her a cupcake. Aspen still smiled at the thought. She followed Barton in, feeling a bit out of place. She hadn't exactly had much time for socializing and getting out in her lifetime. In high school she spent most her time locked in her room reading books when she wasn't working at the local university's science lab. After watching her aunt drink herself to sleep most nights and make a general mess of her life, Aspen had never felt inclined to drink. She followed Barton up to the counter where he ordered a beer for himself and an iced tea for her. Then they went into one of the back rooms where a couple of pool tables were set up. Barton claimed one and turned to Aspen.

"So first you set up the balls," he told her.

"We're really doing this."

"Yes we are." He put a triangular piece of metal on the middle of the green felt and placed the balls inside before pulling off the frame. He grabbed a cue for her and then himself. "This is the cue ball." He held up a white ball. "You use this to break the other balls. This is the only ball you should be hitting with your cue." Aspen lifted a brow. "The objective is to get all of the balls into the six pockets." He pointed to six holes along the edge of the table."

"So I whack this stick at them?" Aspen asked, feigning a serious face.

Barton rolled his eyes. "Something like that. Here." He showed her the proper way to hold the cue. "Go ahead."

Aspen crouched down the way Barton had showed her. She sent the cue out and hit the white ball. It hit the numbered balls in triangular formation and scattered them. One ball came close to one of the holes but didn't go in.

"Not bad," Barton told her, taking a swig of his beer before lowering his cue. The cue ball struck three balls and sent them all spinning into the pockets. Two more were pushed closer to the pockets.

"Show off." Aspen took aim and managed to get one ball into the corner pocket.

"Relaxing yet?"

Aspen realized she was. She hadn't thought of the dratted blue energy for a few minutes. "Yeah, I am." She gave him a smile. "Thanks."

"My pleasure." He took his shot landing four more balls in the holes. "I've seen what overwork can do to a person." He chalked the tip of his cue while waiting for Aspen to take her turn.

"Oh?" Aspen took another shot, missing the hole by an inch.

"I had a friend awhile back. He started working for SHIELD about the same time as me. We went on missions together." He took his shot and sunk another ball. "He breathed work, got so invested that he forgot to live. Especially after his wife was murdered by an enemy organization. He was determined to hunt them down and get revenge. He disobeyed orders and got a few good agents killed. I tried to talk to him but it was too late." He fell silent.

"What happened?" Aspen asked, the game lying forgotten.

"He took his own life." His words hung in the air. "Couldn't take it anymore. I never want to lose a friend like that again. That's why we're here tonight. You're nowhere near that but you need to remember to breathe. Work isn't everything. You've already lost so much, don't lose yourself."

Aspen stared at him. His grey eyes were more serious than she had ever seen them before. She'd never had anyone show that kind of concern for her before. She didn't know what to say.

"Your turn," Barton said gruffly.

Instead of shooting, Aspen reached out and squeezed his hand. "Thank you, Clint," she said. "It means a lot to know you're looking out for me."

"Well, I figured you haven't had many people to look out for you in your life."

Aspen smiled sadly. "No, I haven't," she said.

He nudged her back to the game and they played on, Aspen losing magnificently in the end. She didn't care though. She'd had a fun time for the first time in a long time. She couldn't remember the last time she'd laughed and smiled so genuinely. After that, Barton became Clint and a good friend.

Fury surprised her by ending her and Jemma's research on the blue energy abruptly not long after with no explanation. All he told them was that it was getting transferred somewhere else where they had the resources to do more extensive research. Jemma went back to her usual lab work, and Aspen continued working missions with Clint. Even though they were no longer working together, Jemma still sought out Aspen to say 'hi' everyday. It surprised Aspen to realize that she had already made two friends at SHIELD. Even though she was still curious about the energy and its abrupt relocation, she let it drop. She would just have to put her trust in SHIELD and their judgments.

It was two weeks after her night out with Clint that Fury called the two of them into his office. Clint and Aspen exchanged a smile, standing before Fury's desk. He eyed the two of them, and somehow Aspen knew that his one eye saw more than most peoples' two eyes. "ARTIFACT has shown its hand," he said without preamble. "One of our agents was able to track Joseph Danners down. He is currently on a ship headed for Iceland. We believe he might have a research facility hidden there. The ship is an hour's flight from the coast. You two will be going in with the help of Agent Romanoff."

Aspen had no idea who he was talking about, but Clint nodded his approval. "Is she the one who tracked him?" he asked.

"She is."

"Sorry I'm late." A new voice startled Aspen, and she turned to see an attractive redhead stride into the office. She was dressed in all black that clung to her body in ways that Aspen would never feel comfortable with.

"Agent Romanoff. This is Agent Tolvar," Fury introduced. "She's our newest recruit."

"I heard you used to smuggle for ARTIFACT," Romanoff said, sizing her up.

"I used to," Aspen replied cautiously.

"We'll need your skills. Call me Natasha," she held out a hand, and Aspen took it, surprised at the firm grip.

"Aspen," she said.

"Well, now that we're done with those formalities, we'll get onto the mission," Fury said impatiently. "Danners is in possession of something that, in the wrong hands, could be catastrophic. Research for the serum that was developed by your parents."

"He stole that research from my aunt."

"Take a seat," Fury said. "It's time I told you about your parents."

They took seats, Aspen's heart thumping in her chest at the thought of learning more about her parents. Was she about to finally learn the truth behind their deaths?

"Ava and Gregor Tolvar started working for SHIELD in the early 80s. They were top in their field and looking for somewhere safe to work. What do you know about the serum they were developing?"

"Just that they thought it could give a person full access to their brain."

"They believed that if they could access the parts of the brain we don't normally use or can't use, they could bring out natural abilities in humans, super abilities."

"They were trying to create superheroes," Aspen said quietly.

"That's a very fantastical way of putting it, but ultimately, yes."

"People have a way of turning anyone extraordinary into a hero or a villain," Aspen said. "Did they succeed?"

"They were on the verge of a discovery. They were working in secret – only their team and myself knew of their research, but somehow someone on the outside got wind of their research. They came for them, threatened them, threatened you… We were going to move them – and you – into a safe house that night, but before they could get away, the explosion happened. Their lab was destroyed, their work incinerated. Their bodies were never recovered. It's unclear what part ARTIFACT played, but Joseph Danners had become aware of their work and wanted to sell it to the highest bidder. There are a lot of organizations out there that would pay a generous sum to get their hands on that research."

"I thought it was secret. How is it everyone knows about it?"

"The science community is wide-spread and tightknit. Rumors and theories spread. Your parents started working on this serum at university, shared their findings, got help from peers. It didn't start out a secret."

"We need to get our hands on it before he sells it off," Aspen said, realizing the gravity of the situation. She also felt angry. This was her parents' research, their life's work. There was no way she was letting Joseph Danners sell it off like a gift basket. "Sir, Danners mentioned that they used to work for him. And my aunt too. Is that true?" Aspen asked. That had been nagging her.

"Danners wasn't always in the business of profiteering. He used to run a respectable military armory company. Your parents worked with him on several projects that were meant to help the military but something happened. We're not entirely sure what but I think we can make a safe guess that they disagreed on something. Your parents never said what it was. They came to work for SHIELD instead as well as your aunt. Shortly after that Danners abandoned his armory company and founded ARTIFACT."

"Do you think he caused the explosion?"

"I don't know. He wasn't the only one out there who wanted that research."

"When do we leave?" she asked. She was ready get this over with.

"Just as soon as you look over the blueprints for the ship. Take a team with you. Be careful," he aimed this at Natasha and Clint. "Danners has access to a lot of powerful weapons. He's one of the most powerful men in the country even if most the country doesn't know it. He needs to be taken down. I want him taken alive for questioning. Do whatever it takes." He slid a set of blueprints across the desk. Natasha took them and ran her finger over the outline of the ship.

"We've got this," she said confidently, hazel eyes calm.

Aspen nodded though she didn't feel calm at all. She felt like a nervous wreck. She was half afraid and half angry. She wanted to take Danners down more than ever but something was nagging at her. This wouldn't be easy, she knew that much, but something else felt off.

"Plane leaves in ten. Prepare yourselves," Fury told them. "Oh, and," he stood and held out a small black wallet-like object for Aspen to take, "welcome to SHIELD, Agent Tolvar."

Aspen flipped the wallet open and saw a SHIELD badge with an ID card bearing her name and picture up above. She had done it. She was a SHIELD agent. Clint gave her a friendly slap to the shoulder. "You're one of us now," he said with a grin. "Level one. Room to grow."

Aspen returned the grin. "Yeah, if I get through my first mission as an agent," she said, grin sliding at the thought of what awaited them.

"You'll be fine. You've got two of the best agents backing you up after all."

…

After Aspen and Natasha left Fury's office, Clint turned to the head of SHIELD. "I'm thrilled that you've made Aspen an agent, but are you sure she should be on this mission?" He hadn't wanted to say anything in front of Aspen to undermine her abilities, but this was a high level mission. Level one agents never went on missions like this.

"She is the key to taking ARTIFACT down. You think she's just going to sit still while you go off and take down the man who stole her parents' work?"

"You know something more," Clint said.

"I know that Danners is expecting us to come," Fury replied.

"Then we're headed into a trap. Why didn't you mention that? Seems like something we should know."

"Romanoff knows it. I knew you wouldn't want to take Tolvar in if you knew."

"You're right. It's too risky."

"Danners isn't going to show his hand unless Tolvar is there."

"We can take him down. We can get those documents back."

"I know you can, but it's about more than that. I need to see how she handles this."

"If you still think she's loyal to Danners…"

"It's not that. It's that I don't know how loyal she is to SHIELD."

"So it's a test."

"She needs to face Danners herself. Trust me."

Clint wanted to argue. "At least let me warn her. She deserves to know what we're getting into."

"She'll react better if you don't."

"With all due respect, sir, I've been working with her. I know that she doesn't react well to situations like that."

"Then she needs to learn to if she's going to be a SHIELD agent. You're going to miss the plane. Tell her, don't tell her, but she needs to do this. If not for SHIELD then for herself."

Clint didn't know what to do so he left without replying. When he caught up to Aspen he opened his mouth to say something but stopped. He had promised her he would never lie. This wasn't exactly lying but he was still hiding something from her. Still, she was nervous enough as it was, looking pale and rather ill as she boarded the jet. Maybe telling her that this was a trap that they were going to snap would put her even more on edge. He'd look out for her. He wasn't about to let anything happen to her. As they buckled into the plane, he vowed to keep his eyes on her the entire time. Trap or not, she was not going to come to any harm on this mission.


	7. The Monster Within

**6 – The Monster Within – July 14, 2011**

Aspen sat huddled in the jet next to Clint and across from Natasha. Both agents were completely calm while Aspen's stomach was doing flips. She took some comfort from the fact that she was with Clint whom she had grown close to and worked well with and Natasha who she had come to learn was the famous Black Widow, once a Russian assassin. If anyone could pull off this mission it was the three of them. Clint looked over at her.

"Nervous?" he asked.

She looked up at him. "Why would you ask that?" she said.

His grey eyes were indiscernible. "You'll be fine," he said. "Natasha and I won't let anything happen to you." She was surprised at the force behind his words.

"I can take care of myself," she said. "But thank you," she added, bumping his shoulder with hers. Natasha watched their banter with curious eyes but didn't comment.

"We're almost at the drop site," the pilot called back to them.

Aspen checked her parachute. They would go in first and then their crew would follow and help them secure the ship. They'd need to find Danners and take him into custody. They were hoping he had the documents on the ship, but Clint had told her it was more than possible that they weren't here. Right now their mission was capturing the leader of ARTIFACT. The rest would fall into place after that with luck. Aspen couldn't wait to see the look on Danners's face when he was taken into custody. Fury would crack him like a nut during interrogation.

"Get in position," the pilot called back. They lined up at the side door, and Clint pulled it open. A howl of wind nearly deafened her, and Aspen felt her stomach drop at the sight below them. A wide-open ocean lay below, the waves midnight black and ominous. Aspen could see a huge dark mass in the water up ahead. Clint calculated the distance and the wind and then jumped. Natasha followed and Aspen came last. She'd only had time for a quick rundown on jumping out of planes, but she followed her mentor's lead and managed the jump somewhat gracefully. The fall wasn't so fun. She felt like she was going to go crashing into the ocean but then the parachute kicked into action, and she jerked up a little before slowly floating down to the ship's deck. She landed softly and discarded the spent parachute following Natasha and Clint silently across the deck. They could see several guards along the deck and Clint and Natasha took either side of the while Aspen crept down to the main deck. She drew her dart gun and held it at the ready. She heard a body hit the deck on either side of her, quiet enough not to alert attention. She crept on, coming across no one. The cabin was up ahead, and she could see a light straining through the windows in the front.

She flattened herself against the wall and peered in through the windows. It was empty inside. She cursed under her breath. Where else would Danners be? Clint and Natasha joined her at the doors. She shook her head to indicate that he wasn't in there. Natasha nodded toward the stairs leading down below deck. She indicated with hand motions that she and Clint would go down first and Aspen would follow. Aspen nodded to show she understood and gave them a head start. After thirty seconds, she followed, creeping down the dark stairs, dart gun held out before her. She saw the dark forms of Natasha and Clint up ahead. Aspen crept forward toward the door at the opposite side of the hull. A single light was flashing beyond the door. She put a hand on the knob and turned it. The door led into a dilapidated hallway with peeling paint on the walls and dirty linoleum underfoot. She crept forward, heart pounding. A click echoed behind her. Aspen whirled around to find that the door had closed behind her. She tried the knob. It was locked. She had walked right into a trap. She cursed herself, looking around for another means of escape, but the hallway led straight on until it hit a heavy metal door at the other end.

She had no choice but to move forward. As quiet as she tried to be, the closed in space made her footsteps echo. She readied herself before reaching out for the knob. She slowly turned it and opened the door.

Joseph Danners was sitting at a desk in a stark white room. Fluorescent lights lit up the scene, and it took a moment for Aspen to realize what she was looking at. Danners had a gun in his hand and was aiming it at a woman's head. The woman had greying red hair, and her head was matted with dried blood. Her eyes widened when she saw Aspen. Her mouth was gagged, but she tried to say something.

Aspen opened her mouth in surprise. "Aunt Vi," she said weakly.

"Why don't you join us Miss Tolvar?" Danners suggested, nodding to a metal chair in front of the desk. Aspen walked slowly forward calculating how long it would take the dart to travel across the room and embed itself in his neck. He seemed to realize what she was doing, his eyes gleaming. "I wouldn't try to fire that dart gun. I'd put a bullet in your aunt's brain before you even aimed."

Aspen realized he was right and stowed the dart gun in her belt even though every instinct screamed at her to keep it out.

"There. That's better." Blue eyes she had once found warm and friendly were now cold and menacing. How had she ever looked up to him before? Had everything been a lie?

Aspen sat down noticing a file on the desk for the first time. It was labeled: _Superhero Serum_. Her heart skipped a beat when she recognized her mother's handwriting.

"Oh, yes, that," Danners said. "Hard to believe it was under my nose all along. We've been watching your aunt, of course. We thought she might show you when she thought you were ready. Of course you took things into your own hands like the good little smuggler you are."

"Let her go," Aspen said.

Danners laughed. "I'm afraid I don't find your request very compelling," he told her. "I'm the one with the gun and your little assassin friends are locked out. I was hoping we could have a civil conversation."

"I'm not sure that's possible," Aspen said.

"For your aunt's sake then." Danners's eyes gleamed, and Aspen felt unsettled by this different side of him she'd never seen before.

"Alright."

"Good. That wasn't so hard now was it?" Aspen gritted her teeth. "So how is my finest agent turned rogue enjoying her new job? SHIELD is it? I told you they have a tendency for getting people killed."

"I could say the same for you," Aspen said coolly.

"Just business, Aspen. SHIELD had already approached you. You were getting suspicious. It was only a matter of time until you figured things out. I have never underestimated your brains. In a business like mine, I can't take risks."

"How did you know I'd come tonight?"

"You think we weren't prepared for SHIELD? We're always prepared. We've had a SHIELD contingency plan since the start. That's why we were so quick at vacating our Phoenix headquarters."

"What do you want from me?"

"This research on the serum is incomplete." He flipped the folder open. "There's only one person left that I know of who helped your parents with their work." He turned his eyes to Aunt Vi who looked defiantly back. "I was going to take her with me and force her to finish it, but now she has real incentive to cooperate." He turned his eyes back to Aspen. "Work with me, and I'll let your niece live," he said to Aunt Vi. He turned the gun so that it was facing Aspen.

"Don't tell him anything," Aspen told her aunt.

Her aunt mumbled something but she couldn't get words past the gag. "What was that? An agreement I hope." Danners took the gag out of her mouth.

"Go to hell," Aunt Vi spat.

"I confess myself disappointed. I thought your niece meant more to you than that. No?" He pulled back the release, finger flexing around the trigger. Aspen stiffened, calculating her chances. Her fingers clenched around her dart gun at her belt, but Danners stood, and she retreated her hand. "It's blood on your hands, Violet."

Before anyone could respond, the door exploded forward, whacking the wall beside it with a powerful enough force to dent the wall.

"Put the gun down, Danners," Natasha's voice rang out as she and Clint stepped into the room, guns aimed on Danners.

"Ah, so I see your friends didn't get lost after all." His eyes were roving the room, looking for an escape route. His fingers grasped something behind his back and he pulled out what Aspen immediately recognized as a grenade. He pulled the pin out and pressed his finger down on it. Aspen jumped to her feet.

"What are you doing? You're going to get us all killed including yourself!" she said. For the first time she wondered if Danners was a bit out of his mind.

"Only if I let go. I'm going to walk out of this room and if you come after me before a minute is up, I'm going to toss this in behind me and blow you to kingdom come. Are we clear?"

They stiffly nodded, Natasha and Clint retreating from the doorway. Danners grabbed the folder and Aunt Vi's arm and walked out, keeping his eyes on them until he left the room behind. Aspen watched helplessly as her aunt was dragged away.

Aspen had already started counting to a minute in her head and when the minute was up she took off after Danners, her hatred for him reaching boiling point.

They reached the deck and saw Danners's guards standing with guns aimed at them. Their own agents were on their knees, their weapons gone.

"I knew this was too easy," Clint muttered under his breath.

"I'll have you hand your weapons over to my men if you don't mind," Joseph Danners said from an upper deck, looking down on them with a satisfied smile on his face. Aunt Vi was on her knees next to him, and the muzzle of his gun was to her head again. The grenade was in his other hand. Three of his guards came forward to take their weapons. "I gave you a chance to cooperate, but you made the wrong choice. After everything I did for you, Aspen."

"Yeah, you took me in but you turned me into someone I didn't like. It just took me three years to realize it. You betrayed my family and my trust. My parents' work isn't yours to steal or sell."

"Is it not? You see, the thing is, _I_ paid for their research before they went scrambling to SHIELD. I _own_ this research. They never understood that either. You see, Miss Tolvar, I always win. I always get what I want. Your parents got in the way of that and now you are getting in my way. You could have chosen to stay on my side, but you picked their side."

"I bet you killed them," Aspen shouted, her anger boiling over. "I bet you caused that explosion you son of a bitch!" She felt Clint grab her arm, but she pulled it away.

"Why would I have killed them? Their work wasn't finished. My spy told me they were close, but not close enough. I had more to profit from them living than them dying."

"Liar."

His eyes were cold. "Believe what you will, but I didn't kill your parents. ARTIFACT was not involved in the explosion."

Aspen felt herself shaking. Clint moved closer and nudged her arm. "Easy," he said. "I've been in worse situations."

"I'm not seeing how this could get worse." Before she had the chance to wonder how they could possibly get themselves out of this situation, the ten ARTIFACT guards fell unconscious to the deck. Ten SHIELD agents came out of the shadows. Phil Coulson was at their head. He gave them a brisk nod.

"Looks like you needed a little help." He looked up at Danners. "The game is up, Danners. Let the woman go." His tone was polite but there was no missing the threat behind it.

"If you come a step closer, she dies," Danners said, holding the gun to Aunt Vi's head again. He looked frantic. Aspen was terrified that he'd pull the trigger out of nervous energy.

"Let her go," Aspen said.

"Surrender," Danners countered.

"Let her go!"

Before Danners could reply, Aspen's aunt struck out, dislodging the gun from Danners's hand. It flew down to the deck and landed at Aspen's feet with a clank at the same time as the grenade dropped from his hand over the railing. Aspen couldn't tell if he had dropped it on purpose or by accident. Everyone scattered as it hit the deck. Aspen was thrown backwards from the force of the explosion, landing hard on her arm. She lay there for a moment, coughing. Fire was licking hungrily at the middle of the ship and flaming rubble lay everywhere. Aspen pushed herself up, her fingers brushing something cold and metal. Danners's gun. She picked it up and stood, shakily. SHIELD and ARTIFACT agents alike were getting to their feet. She looked up at the upper deck, but Danners was gone. Aspen clenched the gun and ran for the flaming stairs that led up, dodging the fire. She thought she heard someone calling her name behind her, but didn't stop. Smoke made it difficult to see more than a few feet ahead of her, but as she reached the stern of the ship she could see Danners at the rail untying a rowboat. Her aunt lay slumped on the deck. Danners turned as Aspen approached. Aspen pointed the gun at him.

"Let's not play this game, Aspen. We both know you don't have what it takes to pull that trigger." He continued to untie the boat.

"I'm not that pliable girl who used to do your bidding," Aspen said, hoping she sounded braver than she felt.

"You're not a killer. You're not going to start now no matter how much you hate me."

"How are you so sure?" Aspen's hand shook. Danners gave her a pitying look.

"Because there are no take-backs when you kill a person. You can't go back the moment you begin to regret it. Do you know how easy it is to take a life? Humans are like paper where matters of weapons are concerned." He had the boat loose now and it dropped slowly into the water. He walked over to her aunt. "They don't realize that they've created just the things with the potential to wipe out human-kind." He pulled her aunt over his shoulder. "If you stay with SHIELD you'll find out soon enough what it feels like. Good luck living with that regret." He turned his back on her and moved toward the rail.

Aspen's finger hovered over the trigger. She was breathing hard, her mind fuzzy with confusion, ears still ringing from the explosion. She wanted to scream because he was right; she didn't have what it took to shoot him. He was going to get away with her aunt and her parents' work. He was going to put the world at risk just because she couldn't pull the trigger. Some SHIELD agent she was. What would her parents do? With that thought her mind cleared. She needed to stop him, protect her family, protect the world. But she didn't have to kill him to stop him. She aimed the gun at his leg and fired.

Danners screamed in pain as the bullet went straight through his leg. He dropped her aunt on the deck and clutched his bleeding leg. "You bitch!" he spat at her through gritted teeth.

"It's over," she said. She heard someone shout her name from the lower deck again. "They're coming and they're going to take you into custody. I suggest you start cooperating."

"I'd rather die than be taken by SHIELD," Danners said. He took a painful step toward her. Another explosion rocked the ship, and Aspen lurched backwards. In that moment, Danners flung himself at her, hands scrabbling for the gun. They fell to the deck, Aspen trapped under Danners. She clung to the gun as his fingernails scratched against her hands. She heard more shouting, this time closer. Clint's voice?

"Let go!" she screamed, trying to push Danners off of her. He continued to try to wrest the gun from her. He began to push the gun around so that it would face her instead of him. She held on tighter. A gunshot rang out so close that Aspen's ears began to ring again. She sucked in a breath, expecting to feel pain, but the pain didn't come. Instead Danner's hands went slack and his eyes glassy. Something warm and wet began to soak Aspen's shirt. Her breathing choked out as she realized that Danners was dead. She shoved his body off of her just as Clint and Natasha reached her.

"Aspen!" Clint knelt next to her. Aspen dropped the gun, repulsed by the object. She was soaked in Danners's blood. A folder had slipped from his suit during the tussle. Papers scattered the deck, flecked with scarlet blood. The words 'Superhero Serum' were hardly recognizable now under the flow of blood.

Aspen's ears buzzed and her mind went numb. She felt Clint put his hands on her shoulders, but everything was going fuzzy. Black dots appeared before her eyes, and she slumped backwards into strong arms as she lost consciousness. The last thought in her head before she fainted was: _I'm a murderer_.

…

Aspen awoke later to raised voices. She kept her eyes shut, unsure of where she was or who was yelling. Then the voices got closer. "You _knew _something like this would happen but you sent her in anyway!" Clint was shouting.

"I didn't know _what_ would happen," Fury's voice replied, a hint of impatience present.

"Yeah, well she's not going to want to stay now. Not after that."

"That remains to be seen. Right now she's the only link we have to ARTIFACT. She shot the one man who could have given us all the answers."

"It was an accident!" Clint replied heatedly. "He was trying to kill her and the gun accidently went off in the struggle. What was she supposed to do?" Clint argued. "With all due respect, sir, you shouldn't have sent her in in the first place!"

"It's over now. No use regretting. This isn't the outcome I would have asked for, but she showed bravery."

"Is that what this is all about? Bravery?"

"It's about trust. I need to trust that she can get the job done."

Clint didn't reply to this but Aspen could picture the look on his face, furious and indignant.

"Her aunt has sworn that she won't say a word to me or anyone else who works for SHIELD. She blames us for what happened to her sister and brother-in-law." Fury said a moment later. "And for tonight."

"We recovered the serum research," Clint said, voice still bitter.

"For all we know Danners sent copies on to someone just as dangerous as ARTIFACT. When she wakes up, get her to talk to her aunt. We need to know everything about ARTIFACT and that serum if we're going to get this all under control."

"Sir." Fury's footsteps faded, and Aspen opened an eye. "Did you hear all that?" Clint asked, sitting down on the bed next to her. Aspen realized she was in the medical wing of SHIELD. Her bloody clothes had been replaced by a cotton T-shirt and pants.

"I'm sorry," Aspen said. "I didn't mean for that to happen."

"Hey, I don't blame you," Clint told her. "Danners was a bastard. He got what was coming to him."

"I've never…I couldn't…" she struggled to spit the words out. "I've never killed anyone before," she finally whispered. He already knew this but somehow she had to get the words out.

Clint put a hand on her shoulder. "The first one is always the hardest," he said.

"I don't want it to get easier. I don't want to ever do that again." She shut her eyes. She couldn't face Clint as tears seeped out.

"It won't get easier. Not for you," he said. "You want to know why?" She shook her head, but he kept going. "Because you've got too much damn humanity in you. And that isn't a bad thing. You are not a killer. You're never going to be. And that's a good thing. We need more people like you, Aspen. You think with your heart _and_ your head."

"I've killed before. I'm glad you didn't know the me before SHIELD. And Natasha..." He shook his head. "We're not innocent anymore, Aspen. I haven't forgotten that you're still young. You're practically a kid still. But you did what you had to. You saved a lot of lives even if you don't realize it yet."

She opened her eyes, peering at him through her tears. "I'm no hero," she said.

"And I am? I'm not some saint, Aspen."

"I don't believe in heroes," she said. "I just keep seeing him die over and over…" she whispered the last words, hating herself for being so weak. "I'm sorry," she said again. "I'm not a very good agent."

"Being an agent doesn't just make you immune to things like this. It shouldn't. The day we lose our humanity is the day we become someone like Joseph Danners, like Johann Schmidt, like countless other people who have taken lives and not felt anything."

Aspen's tears came rushing again, but this time it was because Clint was trying so hard to make her feel better. She sat up and threw her arms around him, crying into his shirt. He held onto her tightly, and for the first time in a long time, Aspen felt safe. It was like having a father to hold her again. Clint let her cry until her eyes dried and she felt a little more in control of her emotions. She pulled back and gave him a weak smile.

"Thank you," she said. "You don't have to deal with me, but you do."

"It's not that bad," he said. "But we really do need to work on your pool skills."

She laughed. "What happened after I passed out?" she asked.

"The crew surrendered, and we took them into custody. We recovered your parents documents even if they were a little…hard to read."

"Fury wants me to talk to my aunt."

"She's our closest link to all of this now," Clint told her. "She knows more than she pretends she does."

"She won't tell me anything. I work for SHIELD now, remember?"

"Just because she tells you something doesn't mean you have to pass it onto Fury," he told her with a wink. "Not all of it anyway. She's in the next room over if you want to see her. She just has a few bruises. I think she might still be sleeping, so you might want to check in later. You should get some more rest."

"Is Natasha alright?" Aspen asked, wiping her eyes off on her sleeve.

"Yeah, she's fine. After that grenade, we tried everything to get to you, but the fire made that impossible. Finally Nat and I just climbed the rigging and went over the fire. It was like a scene from _Pirates of the Caribbean_ to be honest. I'm just sorry we didn't get there sooner. I would have done anything to take your place."

"Thank you."

He patted her on the knee before getting up and leaving her to rest. Aspen didn't lie back down. She sat on her bed, imagines of Danners's eyes going blank playing over and over in her mind. She could still feel his blood flooding over her.

She didn't realize that someone else had entered the room until a slight weight pressed down on the bed next to her. She jumped slightly, looking over to see the redheaded spy.

"Hey, Clint told me you were having a rough time. I thought I'd come by and see if there was anything I could do."

Aspen was surprised by the gesture. She hadn't had many interactions with Natasha Romanoff, but she hadn't expected a show of warmth from her. Natasha had once been an assassin and here Aspen was completely shaken over killing one man by accident.

"I'd never killed anyone before," she confessed.

"We all have a point in our lives before we've killed anyone," Natasha told her, hazel eyes wide and honest. "But then desperation kicks in. In this line of work it's going to happen. Not _probably_ will, it _will_ happen. That's just the nature of it."

"I don't want to kill anyone else," Aspen said.

"And maybe you won't," Natasha said, looking thoughtful. "If you're determined enough. I just don't want to give you any illusions. This job can be rough."

"I just wish I could forget it."

"We all have parts of our past we'd like to erase, but it's a matter of learning from them and becoming a better person that counts. If we forget, we don't learn." She stood. "I'm supposed to be down in the detention block interrogating ARTIFACT's men. I'll let you know what I find out." She turned to leave.

"Natasha?" The spy turned back. "Thanks." Natasha gave her a nod.

…

"Aunt Vi?" Aspen called as she opened the door to the next room a few minutes later. Her aunt was sitting in a chair by the window, her arm wrapped in a bandage. Aspen could see black and blue bruises on her left cheek.

Her aunt turned to look at her, face looking more lined than when Aspen had last seen her. "Aspen," she said. "What have you gotten yourself into, child?"

Being called a child smarted, but Aspen sat on the edge of the bed facing her aunt. "I want to hear the truth," she said firmly. "All of it."

"So you can pass it onto your new boss?" Aunt Vi asked, lifting an eyebrow.

"So I can understand what happened," she said. "For me. We're family. Not much of one, but you owe me that much."

Her aunt looked down. "I'm sorry for lying all those years, Aspen. I thought I was protecting you."

Her words hung in the air. "Protecting me?" Aspen choked out. "So all those times you told me it was my fault that my parents were dead, all those times you got drunk and shut yourself in your room, that was just protecting me?" She was frustrated to find that she had tears in her eyes again. She blinked them away.

"I drank because what happened is _my_ fault," Aunt Vi told her.

"What?"

"Your parents were brilliant scientists," her aunt told her. "I worked with them for a time. I helped them develop that serum that everyone is trying to get their hands on. I was the one who first approached Joseph Danners with a business proposition. He wasn't head of ARTIFACT then. He was the head of a company that manufactured armor for the military. I'm the one who introduced him to the Superhero Serum as we jokingly named it. I had no idea at the time that he was working for a gang in Pakistan. We thought that we could introduce the serum to the Army when it was ready. Danners grew greedy though. I became suspicious and thought it was better if your parents cut off ties with him. SHIELD offered us a job and safety, and we accepted eagerly, afraid of what Danners might do to get his hands on the serum. Then Danners started up ARTIFACT. It was originally a branch of his company, seeking to provide soldiers with superior weapons. Somewhere along the lines, weapons turned into items of interest and they were being sold to the highest bidder. Eventually he gave up his company altogether and went underground. We thought we might have escaped him, but by then it was too late. He was aware of the research's existence. He'd already dug his claws in. We worked for SHIELD for a time. We thought we were safe…"

"Until the explosion."

Aunt Vi was silent for a long moment. Finally she spoke again. "ARTIFACT didn't cause that explosion," she said.

"That's what Danners said. I'm not sure I believe him. I suppose it could have been another organization out to steal the serum."

"It wasn't an enemy organization."

"Then who did?" Aspen snapped. Clearly her aunt knew much more than she'd ever told Aspen.

"Your parents did."

Silence hung in the air like a discernable weight. "What?" The words couldn't quite make sense no matter how many times Aspen played them out in her head.

"Your parents knew that Joseph Danners had their location. We're not sure if one of our researchers went rogue, or if it was just time to move. They gathered up their research and blew up everything else. They left cadavers to make it look as if people had died. They left SHIELD behind too though they never explained their sudden distrust."

"You're not saying…" Aspen couldn't breathe. The room seemed too hot.

"Your parents didn't die in that explosion, Aspen," her aunt said. "They're still alive."


	8. Dead Ends

**7 – Dead Ends – July 15, 2011**

"I haven't spoken to them since the night of the explosion," Aunt Vi went on to say. Aspen could hardly hear the words she was saying over her heart pounding in her head.

Her parents were still alive. She wasn't an orphan. Her mom. Her dad. She could see them again.

"Where?" she asked breathlessly. "Where are they? Why didn't they come back for me?" The tears were back.

"It wasn't safe. They placed you in my keep and left to go into hiding. I don't know where they are. I'm sorry."

"How do you know they're still alive?"

"I received a postcard a few years back," her aunt told her. "It was postmarked Paris, France and said 'We're safe. Pass our love to Pen.' That was it, but I knew it was them. I tried tracing them, but they had already left. I reached a dead end. I've been trying to find them ever since, but your parents don't want to be found. I was so afraid I'd slip up and say something. That's why I always refused to answer questions about them. It hurt me not to tell you, to keep you believing that you were an orphan. There was so much at stake though. It would have been dangerous for you to know. People would have hurt you to get to them."

Aspen let out a long breath. "Why did you let me start working for ARTIFACT?" she asked. "Why didn't you tell me how evil Danners was? We could have gone on the run, escaped him. How did he find you?"

It was Aunt Vi's turn to get teary. "He tracked me down somehow. I thought I was safe, but we were never safe. I blame myself. I should have done something more but I let you fall right into the hands of the man who could destroy you. In some twisted way I let you work for him to protect you because if I didn't it would have been that much worse for you."

Aspen wiped her eyes and then stood, walking over to her aunt and putting her arms around her. "Don't blame yourself," she whispered. "It's not your fault." She was still angry with her aunt, but right now she was finally telling her the truth and that was all Aspen had ever wanted – that and for her parents to still be alive. The truth that they were still hadn't sunk in yet.

"I failed you," Aunt Vi told her, grasping Aspen like she might disappear any second.

"I'm right here, Aunt Vi," Aspen said. The emptiness she had felt before was a little lessened. "We're both alive."

"He destroyed our lives," Aunt Vi told her. "He can't hurt us anymore."

Aspen stiffened at her aunt's words and pulled away. "I didn't want to kill him," she said. "I never wanted to kill him no matter what he did."

Aunt Vi's eyes were hard. There was no glint of the tenderness Aspen had seen a moment before. "He was a monster."

"That doesn't mean he deserved to die. He could have been useful."

"Useful?" her aunt scoffed. "To whom? This new boss of yours?"

"Fury stands for a just cause," Aspen defended him. "He took me in even though I'd worked for an enemy organization."

"He took you in because you were the one person who could hand him ARTIFACT on a plate. And you did."

"What are you saying?"

"Think about it, honey, Danners knew you would find him and Fury knew that this was the only way he was going to get to him. He knew what the consequences might be."

"He wouldn't have sent us into a trap."

"He's a spy, Pen. Spies have their own agendas. In the end we all got what we wanted, but I'm not sure he cared about the cost. I can't say I'm upset about Danners's death."

"I killed a man," Aspen said loudly as if this wasn't getting through her aunt's head. "Does that mean nothing to you? Is this who my parents would have wanted me to be? The life they would have envisioned for me?" she asked. "Yes, he's dead, but at my hand."

Aunt Vi was quiet for a moment, the hardness in her eyes dimming a little. "No. No, Pen, that's not what they would have wanted. It's not what I wanted, but you can't go back now. You have to go forward and somehow live with what you did. Just like me if you can call it living."

"Don't say that, Aunt Vi. You're all I have left."

"Aren't making friends with the SHIELD lot? That doesn't surprise me. They always were a secretive lot."

"What do you have against SHIELD?"

"They were supposed to protect my sister. They failed and now she's gone who knows where."

"I'm sure they did everything they could-"

"Is that what they told you?"

"They didn't die though."

"But they're on the run now. If SHIELD had done something more maybe you could have grown up with your parents raising you the way it should have been."

"We'll find them."

"All the evidence of them dried up years ago," Aunt Vi told her. "Trying to find them will head you straight into more trouble."

"I still have to try."

"Aspen, you could look everywhere for them for years and never find them. Don't waste your life looking for them. If they want to be found, they'll come to you."

"But if they don't know Danners is dead..."

"Aspen, listen to me. You need to live your life. Now that you're free of Danners you can go to college and get that science degree you've always wanted. I'll pay for anything. You can come back and live in Arizona with me. Things will be different this time. I promise. Just don't waste your life searching for your parents or working for a place that will get you killed."

"I'm not going to get killed. I have made friends." She thought of Clint and Jemma. "I like it here." She realized this was true. SHIELD already felt like home because she'd left everything else behind. She had a place here and people willing to teach her.

"Honey, this isn't a career. This is a life. Are you willing to give it all up for a place that you can't even put on your college applications?"

"I can't just move home and pretend that everything is just the way it was before."

"But it won't be."

"No, it won't. It will be different because I'm different. I can't live a normal life knowing what I know. I can't just pretend like everything is fine and that my parents aren't ever going to find me." She stood feeling the sudden need to be alone. "I need to rest. I can't handle all of this right now." She left the room, feeling like she was running away. She didn't care right now. She felt entirely overwhelmed by everything that had happened and everything that she had learned. She closed the door to her room, angry when she found no lock. She didn't care that it was daylight outside. She lay down on her bed and shut her eyes, pulling the blankets up to her chin and wishing the mission had never happened.

…

She dreamt she was on the ship. It rocked and swayed with the night-dyed waves of the water below. She was standing alone on the bow. A particularly tremulous wave sent a surge of water across the deck, soaking her feet and ankles. She looked down and saw that the water was no longer dark but a vivid, violent red. It was warm and soaked into her jeans and shoes. She backed up, trying to escape the blood, but it kept coming. Then she tripped and fell backwards into a pile of papers. They were all copies of the Superhero Serum, dotted in spots of dried blood. Then Danners was standing above her saying that he'd perfected the formula. She watched in horror as he grew taller, his eyes glowing with a light that seemed to consume them. Aspen tried to get up, to run, but her feet wouldn't move. Danners moved toward her holding a grenade. She heard Clint calling her name and saw that he was trying to get to her but flames jumped up and blocked his way. Suddenly Captain America was leaping through the flames holding his patriotic shield before him. Blue eyes met hers, but when he opened his mouth to call out to her, she couldn't hear him. He faded, and she was left alone with Danners. Something cool rested in her hand and she looked down to see a smoking gun. Danners put a hand to his chest and slumped to the deck, blood gushing from his chest.

Aspen woke with a start, breathing hard. She had to look around her for a moment to reassure herself that it was just a nightmare. Part of what was bothering her the most, she realized, was that for three years she had looked up to Joseph Danners. He'd become a sort of father figure to her, a mentor. He'd treated her well over the years. After she'd been wounded on a job, the same wound that had resulted in the scar that ran down her cheek, he'd gone after the perpetrators with a vengeance. He'd never told Aspen that directly, but she'd heard other agents talking about it. He protected her. But then he'd turned into a monster. She was still taking that in and now he was dead by her own hand. She felt sick thinking about it. And weak. She didn't have the clearest idea of what being an agent of SHIELD meant, but she was sure that a vast majority of the field agents had taken a life before. Maybe it was necessity or to take out a threat. Maybe they were horrified with themselves afterwards, maybe they had enjoyed it. All she knew was that she would never forget that night. She would move on, push it to the back of her mind, but killing Joseph Danners would haunt her the rest of her life.

…

A knock on the door woke Aspen the next morning. She wasn't entirely sure how long she had slept, but it was day again. Clint stuck his head in. "Sorry to wake you. Fury wants to speak with you." Aspen sat up. She felt like she was a mess. Her hair was tangled, and she needed a shower. "I'll give you some time to get ready. They left some clothes for you." He ducked out of the room leaving Aspen to find her fresh clothes and take a quick shower in the small bathroom. She joined Clint out in the hall ten minutes later feeling much better though the melancholy that had settled on her hadn't lifted.

"How are you doing?" Clint asked, sticking close to her side as they walked down the hall.

"I'm not sure," Aspen answered truthfully.

"You've been through a lot. No one expects you to be okay."

"My parents aren't dead," Aspen said abruptly.

"Come again?" Clint stopped, but Aspen kept walking. He hurried to catch up to her.

"They weren't in the explosion. They caused it to destroy all their work. They knew Danners was after them." She filled him in on what her Aunt had told her.

"So Danners knew about their research because your aunt introduced him to it."

"She didn't know."

"I know. I'm just trying to get my facts straight," he said. "So you still have parents. That's great, Aspen. It's really great."

"But I have no idea where they are," Aspen said. "I have no way to find them."

"She was right about one thing," Clint said. "If they're ready to be found, they'll come to you. Once word gets to them that Danners is dead and ARTIFACT is eliminated..."

"I hope so," Aspen said. "I really hope so."

They entered Fury's office and found Natasha already sitting there. "Please sit," Fury said, motioning to the two empty chairs in front of his desk. "I'm told you spoke to your aunt," he said.

"Yes. She doesn't seem to like SHIELD much," Aspen admitted.

Fury shook his head. "She wouldn't. She blames SHIELD for your parents' deaths."

"Then you don't know the truth."

"What truth?"

"My parents didn't die in that explosion," Aspen told him. If Fury was surprised, he didn't show it. "They knew Danners was coming for them so they took what they could and made a run for it."

Fury sighed. "I told Violet that keeping the truth from you was only going to lead to trouble."

"You knew!" Aspen said incredulously. "Why does everyone know more about my past than me?"

"Their bodies were never found and the bodies in the lab had been dead a lot longer than they should have if they'd died in the explosion. It was clearly staged. Danners wouldn't have figured that out. He never had the resources we did. I tried to convince Violet to go to a SHIELD safe house, but she insisted that she could keep you safer herself."

Aspen didn't speak. She was trying to process everything she'd been told. "Do you know where they are now?"

"No. We haven't been able to track them. They know how to cover their tracks. Would have made great spies if they hadn't been so interested in science. We have their documents." He placed the bloodstained folder in front of her. The worst of the blood had been cleaned off of it, but the rusty stains would never come off completely. "I was hoping you or your aunt could take a look at it and tell us if it's all there."

Aspen hesitantly took the folder, flipping through the pages. She paused halfway through. "There was a page here…it had some formulas…" She flipped to the end. "There are a few pages missing. Are you sure you got it all from the ship?"

Fury nodded. "This just confirms what we'd feared. Danners sold some of the papers to someone else. He was probably going to send the rest when he had negotiated the price. Could anyone recreate the serum with that information?"

"I don't know. I haven't studied my parents' work. From what I remember it was just basics. I doubt very much that Danners would send on the most important information if he was still negotiating for the highest price. But I suppose someone with the resources and knowledge could get somewhere with it." She felt dismay knowing that the Superhero Serum research was still out there somewhere most likely in the wrong hands.

"We're going to take down ARTIFACT and track down that research before anyone succeeds in reproducing that serum. We could use your help."

"I'm not sure how helpful I would be."

"You're close to this. It's personal. I thought you might want to see it through to the end. Agent Romanoff has been able to extract some locations. We're sending in teams soon."

"I'm not exactly sure of what I want to do yet," she said. She thought back to her aunt's offer to move back to Arizona.

"Your aunt wants you to go with her."

Aspen didn't bother to be surprised. "Yes, but I don't want to. I want to learn more about my past but also…" she hesitated. "I was nearing the end of my contract at ARTIFACT and had planned on going to college. I never wanted to be a smuggler forever. If anything this last mission has taught me that I'm not meant for this job."

"Tell you what," Fury said, putting his fingertips together. "We'll pay for you to go to any college of your choosing and in return you help us out. We're going to be acquiring a lot of objects from the ARTIFACT buildings we take down. We'll need someone with knowledge on how to deal with objects like this if you don't have an interest in continuing on missions."

"Don't you have agents who are trained to deal with that sort of thing?" she asked.

"Not agents who used to work for ARTIFACT. I can't deny the fact that I want to keep you here. You're an asset to us whether you realize it or not. Once you get your degree, you'd have a full time job here if you wanted. You don't have to be a field agent. Simmons tells me you fit right into the lab. You could always join the science division."

Aspen's head was whirling. "Can I think about it?" she asked.

"Of course. Is there anything else you could tell me that would help in our elimination of ARTIFACT?" he asked.

"From what I can tell, you know more than me. Just take them down. I'll let you know my decision tomorrow," she said. Fury nodded, accepting her answer. Aspen got up.

"I await your decision tomorrow," Fury said in dismissal.

"I'll take you home," Clint said, standing as well. Aspen nodded and followed him out of the office.

"I just want to speak to my aunt before you take me home."

"I'll wait by my car."

Aspen headed back up to the infirmary where she found her aunt shrugging on a coat over her injured arm.

"You're leaving?" Aspen asked, dismayed.

"I can tell you've already made up your mind. You are just like Ava. She always pretended like she needed the time to think things out when she'd already made up her mind. I can't hold you back. You need to do what feels right to you."

"I'm not sure what feels right anymore."

"Do you like it here?"

"I do. It gives me a sense of purpose like I'm undoing some of the bad I did while working for ARTIFACT."

"You don't need to undo anything, honey," Aunt Vi told her.

"I want to though. Fury offered to put me through school and then hire me full time. I'm going to do it. I'm going to school in New York. I'm going to follow in my parents' footsteps."

"I know you are. You already were." There was sadness in her voice.

"I'm not going to make the same mistakes," Aspen told her. "You could stay too." She wasn't sure why she suddenly wanted her aunt to stay. Now that she knew the truth, knew that she had only been trying to protect her, she felt as if she needed to give her aunt a second chance. Maybe one day they could feel like a family.

"I don't belong here," Aunt Vi told her. "I left that life behind me a long time ago."

"I'll worry about you," Aspen told her.

"I'll be fine. Don't worry about me," Aunt Vi said.

"You said that before Danners kidnapped you."

"Well Danners isn't looking for me anymore. Nobody is. You just take care of yourself." She hugged Aspen tightly and then left. Aspen stood in the empty room for a long time before noticing something sitting on the bed. She walked over and found a note on top of a manila envelope.

_Aspen,_

_I know that your mother and father would be proud of you – _are_ proud of you. You've grown into such a strong young woman, and I know that you will do great things. Never forget who you are._

_Love, Aunt Vi_

_PS – Your parents left this in my care until the time when you were ready. It belongs to you now._

Aspen opened the manila envelope, pulling out an aged piece of paper. It was a deed to her childhood home. She stared at it for a long while. Her parents had left her the house. Why? How long had they been planning this? Aspen sat down on the bed, reading her parents signatures. It was dated the day before the explosion. It all seemed so surreal to know that they were still alive. She wished that instead of sending her a deed they could have sent her an invitation home so they could be a family again. Placing the deed back into the envelope along with the note, Aspen got up and left the room.

She met Clint at his car. "I just saw your aunt get into a taxi," he said, brow furrowed. "Is she leaving?"

"She is. I'm staying though."

"So you've decided to take up Fury's offer?" he asked, unable to hide his smile. "I call taking you to school on the first day."

Aspen couldn't help but smile. "Clint, it's college. No one gets driven to their first day."

"Well you do. I'll take you school supply shopping too."

"I haven't even officially accepted Fury's offer let alone registered. I don't even know where I want to go. Let's take this one step at a time."

Clint's smile slid suddenly. "Am I losing my partner?" he asked.

"What do you mean?" Aspen knew what he meant, but she didn't want to admit just how much Danners's death had shaken her up. She wasn't sure she wanted to go on any more missions. Not if they were going to end up like that. Fury's offer to study the artifacts they recovered and eventually join the science department was something she would consider though.

"I mean, are you going to quit going on missions? Stick with the science department altogether? I'm not expecting you to be out in the field tomorrow, I'd just…well I'd miss you if we never went on another mission together."

"I'll still be here," she told him. "I just need some time, okay?"

"Of course. Come on, I'll drive you home."


	9. Semi-Normal Life

**8 – Semi-Normal Life – September 1, 2011**

Aspen looked down at her schedule wondering just what she thought she was doing. The college campus loomed up before her swarming with cheery students who were either much younger than her or looked like they at least had some idea of what they were doing. Somehow Fury had managed to get her out of most of her prerequisites and into the more advanced science classes. When she'd told Jemma that she was going to college, her friend had enthusiastically recommended SHIELD's Academy of Science and Technology, but Aspen had decided she wanted to attend a college not affiliated with SHIELD. It was a new start, and as she walked into the science building for her first class, she realized that part of the reason she was so nervous was that this seemed to good to be true. Her whole life she had just wanted to study science and now she was here at Columbia University, a college freshman. Clint had wanted to drive her to her first day but had been called away on a mission. He'd sent her text from wherever he currently was wishing her good luck and telling her not to 'outsmart the other kids.' She smiled at that. She'd probably make a fool out of herself if anything.

She found her classroom and slipped in. She was a half an hour early so she pulled out her tablet and checked her e-mail. Her aunt had been corresponding with her on a fairly regular basis and had even surprised her by sending her a box of her parents' things including the photos she had left in her apartment. There was also her dad's old camera and her mom's lab coat and goggles. The file she'd once stolen from SHIELD was also in the box. She thought about giving it back, but Clint had made it sound like SHIELD had already taken it from someone, so she was keeping it as a memento of her first meeting with him.

The other students started to arrive, and a woman with grey hair sat next to her with a smile. "I'm Ann," she said, holding out a surprisingly smooth hand.

"Aspen."

"Are you a junior?" she asked.

"Freshman actually. I skipped a few of the basic classes," Aspen said, feeling self-conscious.

"My, you must be smart if you're starting off in this class."

Actually the readings so far for Intermediate Astrophysics had been a bit dry. Aspen had acquired her textbooks early and already had a head start in most of them. She'd also gotten everything she could find on her parents' work surprised to find that they had published a lot of science journals. She wondered why she'd never thought to look before. She supposed the constant negative response her aunt had anytime her parents were mentioned had discouraged her from going out to find information on them.

"I guess we'll find out," Aspen said in reply to Ann's comment.

The classroom filled up and the professor walked in. He set his briefcase down on the front counter and turned to face them. "Two atoms bump into each other. One says, 'I've lost an electron.' 'Are you sure?' the other asks. The first one replies, 'Yes, I'm positive.'"

Aspen chuckled along with a few of the other students. The professor looked around at the class. "Only a few of you laughing. My, we have some work to do." That relieved tension a little. Some of the other students laughed, making Aspen feel a little less silly. "I'm Professor Stewart Donovan, but you can call me Stew or Professor Stew. Extra credit if you actually find out my favorite kind of stew is. Today we're going to jump right into it. I hope you brought a notebook or laptop because you're going to be taking notes." There was a shuffling as everyone got a notebook or computer out. Aspen flipped her notebook open and poised her pen, ready to write.

"Can anyone give me a basic definition of astrophysics?" the professor asked.

"The branch of astronomy that deals with the physical nature of stars and other celestial bodies using the laws and theories of physics to interpret astronomical observations," a student in the back called out.

"Good, you did the reading." More laughter. "Basically we're going to be learning about the universe and what exactly it does, how it came about, what else might be out there. The universe is vast. There's a lot of cover. You should have gotten a basic overview of it in Beginning Astrophysics, but now we're going to take that to the next level. What makes the universe tick? Is there a possibility of other life forms out there?"

The lesson proved to be extremely interesting. Aspen understood everything Professor Stew spoke about which was a relief. She'd been afraid that her very informal science training would keep her from understanding the more advanced curriculum but her work in the science lab in Phoenix had helped.

The professor held Aspen back as she made to leave the room after class was over. "Miss Tolvar, am I mistaken in thinking you are related to the famous Ava and Gregor Tolvar?"

"No. They're my parents," she said.

"I was so sorry to hear of the explosion," Professor Stew said.

Aspen kicked herself for referring to her parents in the present tense. She had gotten used to the idea of them still being alive in the last few months since her aunt had broken the news to her. "Thank you. I was only three when it happened, but I know what wonderful people they were. Did you know them personally?"

"We went to university together actually. We were good friends for a time, but then we got busy with our degrees and real life, and I'm afraid we lost contact. I was thrilled when I saw your name on the roster. I'll expect great things of you, Miss Tolvar."

"I hope I can live up to their brilliance," Aspen said.

"I'm sure you will," he said. "See you next time."

The rest of Aspen's classes were not quite as interesting. She nearly fell asleep in the lower level biology class she'd been forced to take. She didn't bother taking notes in her chemistry class. She already knew everything the professor told them. At the end of the day, she got into her Audi and drove back to her apartment. She already had a paper to write and a few theories to read up on in her books. She put on some music and lay back on her couch, textbook poised on her legs. Her phone rang from the table, and she picked up, tucking it under her chin and against her shoulder as she opened her textbook.

"About time," she said.

"You know I can't call you while I'm on missions," Clint told her over the line.

"But you can text?"

"How did the first day of school go?"

"Are you still on a mission?"

"Just got back."

"It went pretty well. Some of the classes are going to be a repetitive bore though."

"So, you'll ace them."

"Where are you?"

"I just got out of a meeting with Fury."

"Feeling up to some pool tonight?"

"Don't you have homework you should be working on or something?" he asked.

"I can do it in like five minutes. Come on. I've been practicing my shots."

"Fine. I'll pick you up in ten."

Aspen hung up, marking the place in her textbook and stacking it with her others. Clint pulled onto the street in front of her apartment five minutes later, and she ran down to meet him, sliding into the passenger's side. "Good to see you!" she said, giving him a one-armed hug.

"I did actually miss you," he said, giving her a sly grin.

"Did Natasha go with you?" she asked.

"Yeah. She says 'hi.'" He pulled away from the curb. "So, what are your professors like?"

"One actually went to university with my parents," Aspen said excitedly. "They fell out of contact, but it was so neat finding a connection to them. Several of my professors actually assigned their books as reading. I've read them all already of course."

"Of course." Clint still had that sly smile on his face.

"What?"

"You're not going to be one of those know-it-alls now are you?" he asked.

"Yeah because you're so modest about your archery skills."

"When am I immodest about that?"

"When you were teaching me last month. You said that I reloaded slower than an armless sloth."

"I didn't say that." He threw her a look.

"You're such a liar. Any word about ARTIFACT?" she asked. The last few months had been spent trying to weed out any stragglers from the organization. She hadn't done any actual fieldwork, but she had helped out at SHIELD headquarters. So far they had found a few outlying facilities. They'd tried Iceland but had drawn up blank.

"Only a few rumors. Natasha and I took down a group that was trying to smuggle some items out of the country. Fury wants you to take a look at them next time you come into work."

"Alright. I'll come in Friday afternoon."

"So how is this semi-normal life thing going for you?" Clint asked. He'd taken to calling her life that.

"It's only day one," she told him, rolling her eyes.

"Yeah, but you've been sweating this whole first day of college thing for how many months now?"

"It's a big deal!"

"I never said it wasn't. I just hope it balances out well."

"It will. SHIELD is just my super secret part-time job now."

"Right."

They reached the bar where they had started a tradition of playing pool. Aspen had been practicing while Clint was gone. It had been Natasha's idea actually. The redhead had learned about their little tradition and made the suggestion that she practice on the side. From the look on Clint's face, it had paid off. As she sunk three balls at once, Clint moaned. Aspen did a little victory dance, laughing.

"What happened?" he asked. "You used to be so easy to beat."

"Maybe you're getting too old for this," she told him.

"Oh really?" he asked, sinking four balls. "Game on."

It felt good to let loose a little like this. She'd been so tense over starting college the last few weeks that she'd even started having nightmares about coming to class late with only one shoe. It was ridiculous to be nervous over something as normal as school after what she'd been through.

Aspen surprised herself by winning the game. "You've been practicing _a lot_," Clint accused, but he was grinning. Aspen wasn't sure if he'd let her win or not, but she was going to enjoy it.

"When do I have time for that?" she asked. "You're just a sore loser."

...

Aspen was settling into college life perfectly. She was always the first to raise her hand in class and soon made a name for herself in the science department. When registration time came for next semester, several of her teachers wrote her recommendations to place her in higher classes. November passed quickly and suddenly it was the end of the semester and the weather had chilled considerably. Between homework and her work for SHIELD, Aspen had been plenty busy. She wasn't complaining though. She was really happy for the first time in a long time. She had a purpose, and she was doing what she had wanted to do for so long. No one was threatening her, no one was trying to manipulate her. That December would change a lot of things for her though. Her trust would be tested and the choices she made would change the future for better or for worse. As the snow began to fall, the universe had a plan of its own.


	10. Part Two: The Trickster

**Author's Note: **I'm really excited about part two! Loki is such a complex and (I think) sympathetic character. There's a lot more to him than just being a super villain. I hope I do his character justice. This whole part two is my own little plot, and I did take a bit of creative license. I wanted to fill in that year between Thor and The Avengers and play around with some ideas. I really hope you enjoy! Thank you as always for your support! Feel free to leave a comment!

* * *

**Part Two: The Trickster**

**Prologue – May 1, 2012**

The darkness had been absolute at first. He'd felt it rip at him like a double-edged sword, trying to tear him apart. But he had survived. He felt as if every fiber within him was raw and wounded, but then the darkness ended, and he found himself in a place he'd never been before. In that place he found a knowledge that opened his eyes to many things. He saw the universe for what it was, saw what it could be. And he plotted. The creatures that lived there pledged their allegiance to him if he could retrieve an object for them. One simple object that had once belonged to his father. It made him laugh to realize that it had been hiding with the humans all this time. The weak humans who fought amongst each other everyday pretending like it was freedom they were fighting for. What they needed was a real leader, someone who could show them the way. Someone who could take away that freedom that drove them to kill each other and give them something more. He would be that leader.

His own throne had been stripped away from him. He'd been shunned by his father after everything he had done to prove himself. Cast away from his home to be a nothing. He had no home now. No family. Only empty bitterness and an insatiable desire for retribution. He would have his throne even if he had to conquer the world to take it. He would prove his brother and his father wrong. He would rule these people who floundered around with no concept of how to handle freewill.

Everything was in place now. He had control over someone working close to the object he was set to retrieve. He would come to claim it when the time was right. He had nearly stumbled once on his first visit Midgard when he had come there unexpectedly. He had somehow become the vulnerable one, the tricked instead of the trickster. He had put that behind him now though. He would not make that same mistake again. He would not let a single human be his downfall.

It wasn't that easy though and he knew it. What had happened down on Midgard during that time was something that he couldn't think about without feeling a small twinge of emotion. He despised that little bit of emotion. Hated it with every fiber in him. It was _weakness_. It was _human_. He refused to ever feel that way again.

He heard someone approaching behind him and tensed. A golden scepter with a glowing blue orb at the top was handed to him. He took it, feeling the power thrumming within. A deep voice spoke. "The Tesseract has awakened. It is on a little world. A human world. They would wield its power... But our ally knows its workings as they never will. He is ready to lead. And our force, our Chitauri, will follow. The world will be his. The universe yours. And the humans, what can they do but burn?"

He clenched the scepter. The blue orb within glowed brightly, pulsing with an energy waiting to be discharged. This time Earth would not hold so many surprises for him. This time he would be ready.


	11. The Trickster

**9 – The Trickster– December 24, 2011**

Christmas was always a difficult time for Aspen. When she had lived with her aunt, it had always been a less than joyous occasion, but at least she'd had someone else in the house. This Christmas felt even lonelier. Sure, Clint and Jemma had sent her Christmas cards, but Clint was on a mission somewhere far away and Jemma was back home in England for a few weeks. That left Aspen with an empty apartment feeling sorry for herself.

She had been given a few days off from filing away artifacts. ARTIFACT had been officially shut down – after word of Danners's death had gotten out some of the headquarters had gone as far as surrender to SHIELD – and SHIELD had been quiet the last few weeks. She didn't know what else to do on Christmas Eve so she'd taken a walk. It'd led her through the streets of New York past the last minute shoppers across the lightly snow-covered sidewalks. She stopped outside a church as the strains of music hit her ears. She listened for a minute, watching the outlines of people sway behind the colorful stained glass windows. It was beautiful. She hadn't seen much beauty in the world of late, and this was something so simple that it touched her.

She wished her parents were here with her. The world might seem a little brighter if she didn't have to live with the knowledge that her parents were still alive but hadn't made an effort to find her. They hadn't even tried to contact her. Every lead she had tried to follow to find them had dried up. Her aunt told her to stop looking, but she stubbornly refused. Maybe her parents were so far away that they hadn't heard of ARTIFACT's shut down. Maybe they thought it was too late to make amends. Aspen just wanted to see their faces again. The initial excitement over them being alive had faded over the months. It didn't really make a difference if they were dead or alive if she never saw them again. They were still lost to her. She tried not to wallow, not to let it bring her down, but it wasn't something she could just brush off.

She headed home, letting her feet carry her without really paying attention to where she was going. She was a block from her apartment, passing by Central Park, when the sky opened up above her. She heard a clap of thunder and saw a dark cloud roll overhead. Its middle was perfectly black as if there was nothing behind it, only a void. Something streaked through the air and there was the sound of something hard hitting the ground. The sky closed up, and all was calm.

Aspen stared into the park where the object had landed. This was starting to look familiar. She checked to see that she had her dart gun and knife on her before crossing the street and heading into the park. Ever since she had joined SHIELD, she had taken to keeping a weapon on her at all times outside of school. Perhaps she had gotten paranoid, but she liked to think of it as being prepared.

Dusk was beginning to fall, and it wasn't the best time to be wandering around Central Park, but Aspen felt more curious than frightened. She walked stealthily forward, hunching deeper into her black coat. Her winter boots made no noise on the ground as she stepped lightly forward. A tree was split in two ahead, and she crept toward it, finding herself at the edge of a small crater. The dust was starting to settle, and she could make out an object lying at the center of the crater. It was a man.

She stepped cautiously forward, pulling out her dart gun just in case. The man was pale with shoulder-length black hair. He was dressed oddly with a green cape and armor that didn't look from this time. She thought back to Puente Antiguo and the hammer. Clint had eventually told her the whole story about Thor and the attack on the city by the destroyer. She'd somehow missed all the excitement on the news. She'd seen a picture of Thor though, and he had been dressed similarly to this. Unsure of whether or not this man was friendly, she approached him slowly. When he didn't move, she wondered if he was still alive. She leaned down to press a finger to his neck. A pulse beat persistently under his cold skin. She moved her arm away, but suddenly his eyes opened, and he grabbed her wrist with an inhuman reflex. She yelped. Blue eyes stared up at her with an expression torn between feral and frightened.

"Where am I?" he demanded. "Who are you?"

"You just fell out of the sky. I think I should be asking those questions," she said.

He narrowed his eyes, his grip tightening on her wrist. "Last I checked I was wandering the deepest corners of the universe. This must be some new test. Some new torture." His eyes had grown quite wild, and Aspen tightened her grip on her dart gun.

"You're on Earth now," she said. "New York."

He seemed to think about this for a moment, looking around at the trees and the darkening sky and then back at her. He studied her face for a moment and then loosened his grip on her wrist. "Earth?" he asked. His accent sounded British, but Aspen knew better than to assume he was from Earth. He seemed surprised by this fact.

"Yes. Where are you from?" She rocked back on her heels, pulling her wrist from his hand. He sat up slowly, putting a hand to his head.

"Nowhere. Not anymore," he said bitterly.

"You mentioned the deepest corners of the universe. Were you speaking metaphorically or literally?" she asked, lifting an eyebrow.

"Does it matter?" he asked. "I was of Asgard. I was supposed to rule, but that was all taken from me and now I belong nowhere."

"Asgard?" That was where Thor had been from. She had read the file on him eagerly, astounded that there was another world out there somewhere. She hadn't expected to actually meet someone from that world. "I've heard of it. How did you come to be here?"

"I don't know. I fell." He looked up at the sky.

"I saw you fall," she said. "Are you alright? Any broken bones?"

He shook his head, glancing at her with narrowed eyes. "It takes more than a fall to break my bones," he said, his voice sharp. "I am not some weak mortal."

Aspen tensed. "What do you know about mortals? You're not from here. You have no right to judge," she said stiffly.

He looked slightly surprised by her retort. "I'm not hurt," he said after a moment as if to placate her. "What do you call this place?" He motioned to the trees around them.

"Central Park."

"How does one get out of this _park_?" He said the word as if it was vulgar.

"Well, there's a gate," Aspen told him. "Were you planning on simply wandering aimlessly around New York? I don't know what Asgard is like, but I'm thinking it's a bit different here. Firstly, no one dresses like that." She motioned to his armor.

"I'm not here to fit in," he said sharply.

"Why are you here?" she asked.

"I don't know," he replied impatiently. "I didn't ask to fall here." He seemed to think for a moment, and she could almost see the gears turning in his head. His eyes were keen and darted from her to the trees. "I need a guide," he said after a moment. The arrogance was apparent in his tone, and Aspen crossed her arms. She was not going to allow this man to boss her around.

"Then hire a tour guide," she said snippily.

Anger flashed behind his eyes. "No one speaks to me like that," he said. "I am heir to the throne of Asgard. Odin's son."

"I thought you said you belong nowhere and that your throne was taken from you. Besides, you're not a prince here whatever you were there. Here you're just a lost man who is completely out of his league. I will help you, but you'll have to ask me nicely." She was thinking frantically back to the file she had read on Thor. Thor was Odin's son. So this was his brother? Clearly his brother was not happy to have not been chosen for the throne.

He threw her a murderous look, but seemed to realize that she was his best chance at survival right now. "Fine, we'll have it your way," he said. "Will you please get me out of this place? I need somewhere to rest, and then I'll be on my way."

"Will you at least tell me your name first?" Aspen asked.

He studied her for a moment as if deciding whether or not she was a threat. He eyed the dart gun she held. "Are you planning on shooting me?" he asked.

"This is just a precaution," she told him. "If you mean me no harm then you have nothing to worry about."

"I wasn't worried," he said with a laugh. "Is your world at war?" he asked. "Why do you carry a weapon?"

"What? No. Well, yeah, I guess technically we are, but that's not why I'm carrying this around. I'm just like to be careful. My line of work is sometimes dangerous." Why did she feel like she was giving everything away to him and getting nothing in return? "Your name?" she asked again. She was trying to remember what she'd read about Thor. Not just in his file but in her mythology classes in high school. She thought she remembered a brother.

"My name is Loki," the man said finally, saying it as if she should instantly know who he was and bow down before him.

"Loki? I'm Aspen." She stuck out her hand which he eyed. "You shake it. It's a human thing," she said, putting a little acid into her last statement. He slowly extended his hand and placed it around hers. He pulled his hand back a second later, looking displeased. "Why don't you come with me for now while we figure out why you're here," Aspen suggested. She wasn't sure it was a wise choice, and she certainly didn't trust him, but he was clearly lost and she wasn't about to leave him to wander the streets of New York alone.

His green cloak brushed her as he passed, and she followed, keeping in stride with him as they headed toward the street. Night had fallen by now and the streetlights cast eerie glows on the sidewalk. A light snow had begun to fall, and snowflakes gathered in Loki's black hair. His skin was nearly as pale, but he seemed unaffected by the cold.

"My apartment is just a block away," she told him. "It overlooks the park."

"Are you keeping me a prisoner?" he asked, looking down on her. She didn't miss the way his eyes flitted to her dart gun. He stood quite a bit taller than her, and she tried not to feel intimidated.

"If I was keeping you a prisoner, I might have handcuffed you or used my dart gun," she said. "I'm doing you and New York a favor by not letting you run loose on Christmas Eve."

"Christmas Eve? Is this one of those human holidays that you celebrate? How charming."

"Let me guess. Back home you have a Loki day where everyone celebrates you. I hate to break it to you, but that's not a holiday here on Earth."

They reached her apartment, and Aspen pulled out her keys, unlocking the main entrance to the complex. "After you," she said, motioning for him to walk through the doors. He did, cautiously. Aspen was sure the doors in Asgard were superior, but she wasn't about to lay out a red carpet for him to walk on. She knew she should probably be bringing him into SHIELD right now, but then he would be locked up and interrogated and they would probably get absolutely nowhere with him. So far he hadn't presented any danger, just an attitude to contend with.

"We'll take the elevator," Aspen said. "I live on the tenth floor." Loki hesitated outside of the elevator. "Relax," she said. "It's perfectly safe." She stepped in when the door opened, waiting for him to do likewise. He gave it a long stare as if expecting it to try to eat him and then stepped in after her. He winced when it started upward, but didn't speak.

"Quaint," Loki said as they entered her apartment. Aspen flicked the overhead light on and shut the door, locking it behind them. Loki lifted a black eyebrow.

"Make yourself at home," she said. "Would you like something to drink? Eat?" He didn't answer but instead began to investigate her DVD collection, frowning pensively. Aspen scowled at his back before snatching her phone and doing a quick Google search.

"What are you doing?" Loki was glaring at the phone as if it offended him, the DVDs forgotten.

"Nothing, just a little background research."

"That device gives you information?"

"Yeah." She bit her lip as the results of 'Loki Odinson' came up.

"And what information does that device give you?" Loki asked. Aspen didn't answer at first as she scrolled down. She walked over to her desk and grabbed something from one of the drawers before answering Loki.

"See for yourself." She held out the phone and as Loki reached out for it, she snapped a silver cuff around his wrist. When she'd grabbed the cuffs from Danners's office, this wasn't how she'd imagined using them, but she was glad she'd had the foresight to take them.

"What is that?" he asked, ripping his hand away as if he had been shocked.

"It's a cuff that subdues any unnatural powers. You're Loki the trickster. The Norse god of mischief. Which is exactly why I don't trust you." She waved the phone in his face. "Now you can't use your powers unless I take that off of you." He looked quite mad in that moment, eyes flashing at her as if he was about to attack her. She held her ground, staring defiantly back at him. "Look, if you cooperate, I'll help you."

"You have a strange way of helping," he said, pushing at the wrist cuff as if it was burning his skin. "What do you plan on doing with me? Making me your house guest? Keeping me as a pet?"

"Look. There are some people out there who would love to lock you up and question you until your ears ring. I'm offering you another solution. You stay here for the time being, and I figure out just why you're here. I know that there's more behind it all than you just being lost."

"What's stopping me from walking straight out that door and disappearing?" Loki asked.

"Nothing, but they will find you. I would know. I work for them. And I'm the only one who can get that cuff off of you."

"And what would these people think of you keeping me here?" Loki asked, narrowing his eyes.

"They wouldn't like it, but I don't always approve of their methods. Besides, it's cold outside and you have nowhere to go. Why not accept any hospitality given to you?" Loki seemed to consider this before sitting stiffly on the loveseat. "Great, I'll get us some hot chocolate. Or do you like eggnog?"

"Does it have eggs in it?" he asked, his expression disgusted.

"Yes, but they're whipped in with milk and cream. I also have water."

"I'm not thirsty."

"Do you even eat or drink? Or are you too 'otherworldly' for that kind of thing?" she asked.

"I may be immortal, but I still need sustenance," he replied archly. Aspen tensed, but Loki got up a moment later, looking around her apartment again with poorly veiled boredom.

"I'll make hot chocolate," Aspen said after a moment, leaving Loki to look around. She went into the kitchen to the left and started the kettle, getting out two mismatched mugs and two hot-chocolate packets. She leaned back against the counter and wondered not for the first time if she should turn Loki into SHIELD. The answer was yes, she should, but somehow she couldn't bring herself to make the call. She thought about what Clint would say. He'd probably berate her for being careless, but he had always said her humanity was her finest quality. She felt like she had lost a little of that on her last mission. Maybe this was her chance to regain it. She had brought an Asgardian god home like a lost puppy. She shook her head. She was probably losing it.

The kettle whistled, and she turned the burner off before pouring the packets of powder into the mugs and stirring it in. She left room for a little milk and a little cinnamon. She balanced a mug in each hand and went back into the living room. Loki was standing at her bookcase, holding a framed picture. He didn't seem to notice her because for a moment, his face was unguarded, and she saw an immense amount of sadness reflected in his blue eyes and in the way his lips were slanted downward in a frown. He looked so human for a moment, and Aspen was reminded that he _was _lost, and she knew exactly how that felt.

She set the mugs down on the coffee table and switched on the electric fireplace. Loki seemed to come to and turned to look at her, still holding the framed photo. "Is this your family?" he asked, his voice taking on a soft tone she'd not yet heard from him.

"Yes," she said, coming forward to look at it. It was a snapshot of her with her parents. Her mother was holding a rake and her father laughing while she threw a pile of leaves in the air. She didn't remember that moment. "It was," she added. "They died when I was three. Well, I thought they did, but they really faked their deaths and now I have no idea where they are. I don't even remember this."

Loki watched her for a moment without saying anything and then gently replaced the photo where it had been. Aspen stood watching, surprised by his careful action. Then she remembered that he too had lost his family. She wondered what had driven them to cast him away. He made it sound as if he had been forced to leave home. She cleared her throat and turned away from the photo. Loki reclaimed his spot on the loveseat while Aspen sat in the armchair to the right of it. She watched as Loki reached out for the mug and tentatively sipped it.

"Not bad," he said. A little color had returned to his face, and he wasn't looking quite so frostbitten. His blue eyes didn't look so cold and distant either. She noticed the hand with the cuff clenched though and knew he wasn't at ease. Not completely.

"Oh, I suppose your hot chocolate is superior?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.

A smile touched his face for the first time since she had found him. She couldn't tell if it was genuine or if he was humoring her. "Most everything of ours is probably superior, but I can't say I've ever had hot chocolate before." He turned his eyes to her.

"Will you tell me your story?" Aspen asked.

"What makes you think I have a story to tell?" he returned. The light from the fake fireplace cast shadows across his face and, for a moment, he looked every bit the Norse god he was.

"Everyone has a story," she told him. "I told you a little of mine."

"Just that your parents faked their own deaths and abandoned you. That's not much of a story." His tone was spiteful, but Aspen didn't let it get to her. He was like an injured animal that would strike out at anyone who approached him.

"Fine. They were scientists. They studied genetics. They came up with some sort of serum, and suddenly everyone was after their research. They blew up their lab and disappeared, leaving me with my aunt. I almost died because someone thought I knew something about their work. I grew up living with my alcoholic aunt and ended up working for the wrong people. I was saved though, turned around, offered a new job and the chance to go to school to study science like my parents. When I was working for my old boss, I investigated your brother's hammer when it fell. I wasn't there when the disaster happened, but I heard he saved the town." She watched Loki carefully. His lips were now turned down in a scowl at the mention of his brother. "You're not close to your brother then?" she asked.

"Thor didn't deserve the throne. He was arrogant and quick to begin war. He never stopped to think about the consequences of his actions," Loki spat. Clearly she'd hit a nerve.

"And I suppose you're different?" she asked.

"I don't have to answer to a human," he said.

"I'm just asking. I never said you weren't fit to rule. Why would you be a better king of Asgard?" she asked, keeping her tone calm. She sipped at her hot chocolate. Loki seemed to calm down a little.

"I think things through," he said. "But my skills are not valued in Asgard. Only the skills of a great warrior are valued, and I do not rely on brute force to get my way. I tried to do what I thought was right, but my father did not agree." He looked down at his hands. "After all I did. After I saved his life…"

"We all have different ideas of how the world should be ruled," Aspen told him. "It doesn't mean any one way is right or wrong." He didn't reply, and Aspen added, "I know, what does a weakling human know of such things?"

"Probably not a lot," he told her, but a smile curved his lips.

She gave a short laugh. "We don't have a king or queen in this country."

"How do your people live?" he asked, looking genuinely curious. "In panic and disarray?"

"Hardly. We have a president and representatives who are supposed to listen to the people. The people have the power to vote and make decisions. Believe it or not, the country is not in complete chaos."

"But yet you are at war?" he commented.

"Well, yes, but war happens. Has your world not experienced war?"

"Oh, we've experienced war before," Loki replied. "My father defeated the Frost Giants long ago. I was just trying to finish his work."

"Frost Giants? What are they?" Aspen leaned forward in her chair, genuinely interested in learning more about his world.

"Monsters," Loki replied, looking darkly at the fire. "The ones parents tell their children about to frighten them into behaving."

"Why didn't your father want you to finish his work?" she asked, frowning.

Loki looked at her, his expression surprised. "Why do you care?" he asked.

"I'm curious to know," she said. "And clearly this has upset you."

"The Frost Giants would destroy us if given a chance," he answered her. "My father thought that they had peace, but how long does peace last? Not forever. I was going to rid the world universe of their kind once and for all."

"You would annihilate an entire species? How is that means of peace?" she asked him. "We're at war with a country, but we're not going to kill them all just so we eliminate them as a problem in the future."

"But you are killing them if you are at war. How many more must die? Eliminate the problem once and for all and no one else dies."

"There will always be another enemy," Aspen told him. "A different one. You can't eliminate war altogether."

"Couldn't you?" He seemed to contemplate this. "Perhaps the right leader could."

"Earth already has its own leaders." She wasn't sure where this was going, but she thought it wise to proceed with caution. "You think you could do better?"

"Maybe."

"Good luck getting anyone to follow you. It takes more than a name and a plan to make a leader of yourself let alone a ruler. Most people don't just follow someone blindly. Anyway, you're not from this world. What would you understand about how it works?"

"People need someone to lead them. It seems simple enough to me."

"Do you believe in freewill?" she asked him.

"It depends on whether the people can be trusted with it," he told her. "Some people cannot function without order, without being told what to do."

"And others won't follow anyone no matter what they're told. We're not as simple as you'd like to believe. Humans have intricacies that you can hardly begin to imagine. We might not be powerful like you, but we can stand on our own."

"Clearly I have a lot to learn," Loki said, backing away from the discussion.

"Good thing you met me," Aspen said with a smirk.

He shrugged. "I suppose so."

They finished their hot chocolates in silence, Aspen's mind humming over the conversation they had just had. She wasn't sure what Loki's mission was if he had one, but she needed to keep an eye on him just in case he got any ideas about world domination. Clearly he thought himself superior to humans and privileged. She supposed he had been raised believing that he might one day take the throne. It had to have been a disappointment when he was not chosen to take it in the end. She was no judge of who would be the best ruler of Asgard, but she knew that there had to be more behind the story. Not that she expected Loki to open up to her in one hour or ever. He had no reason to tell her anything.

"You can sleep in the spare bedroom," Aspen told him. "You do sleep, am I right?"

"Somehow even more than usual in this form, I think," he said, his eyes darting down to the silver cuff.

"Just because you can't use your powers doesn't mean you're a weakling," Aspen said. "Which is why I'm locking my door and keeping my dart gun next to my bed. So don't even think about trying anything."

"You wouldn't have brought me home if you thought I was going to attack you," Loki pointed out.

"Perhaps."

"I have nothing to gain by harming the only person I've met so far in this world," he said with a sigh.

"Will you still be here in the morning?" she asked.

"I have nowhere to go."

"Good. I'll make pancakes in the morning."

"Pan-_whats_?" he asked, frowning.

"Never mind, you'll see," she said. "I don't suppose you celebrate Christmas. And you'd probably end up with coal in your stocking anyway, but maybe we could try to have a good day tomorrow."

"If it pleases you, I'll try to put on a smile," he said.

Aspen shut off the electric fireplace and headed toward her room. "Goodnight," she called back. She half expected him to ignore her, but he returned the comment before heading into the spare room. Aspen leaned against the door after she had locked it. What had she gotten herself into?


	12. A Very Asgardian Christmas

****Author's Note:****I'm not gonna lie. This was a really fun chapter to write. I wanted to play around with the idea of Loki coming to Earth before _The Avengers_, and of course I wanted to get some interactions between him and Aspen. They've got some chemistry going there - the explosive kind. Hope you're enjoying!

* * *

**10 – A Very Asgardian Christmas – December 25, 2011**

For a few blissful moments, Aspen forgot that she had a guest in the next room over. She awoke Christmas morning, stretching her arms above her head and smiling at the sight of snow gathered along the windowsill. Then she heard someone shifting outside her room. She stiffened, her hand impulsively moving toward her dart gun. Then she remembered Loki. She sighed, getting out of bed and pulling on her fuzzy robe. She unlocked her door and opened it.

Loki was sitting on the loveseat, an atlas splayed out in front of him. "Your world is far vaster than I would have imagined," he said without looking up.

"And a very merry Christmas to you too," Aspen said grumpily, shuffling past him and into the kitchen.

"What realm are you at war with?" he asked, following her into the kitchen, the atlas in his hands.

Aspen sighed, pointing to the Middle East before filling the coffee maker with water and adding in an extra scoop of hazelnut grounds to the filter.

"Fascinating. What kinds of weapons do you humans use?" Loki asked. Aspen looked over at him. He was actually chipper. He was talking about weapons on Christmas morning and he was chipper.

"The kind that kill people," she told him irately, going to the refrigerator and pulling out the ingredients for pancakes.

"For someone who was eager to have a good day, you're awfully glum," he said, picking up on her mood. He shut the atlas and set it down on the counter. "What does one do to celebrate Christmas?"

"Well," Aspen pulled out a mixing bowl, "people like to decorate and put up pine trees in their living rooms. Then they put presents under the tree and open them on Christmas morning."

"I didn't see any tree in your living room," Loki commented with a frown. "And I see no presents."

"I'm not exactly rich in friends and family," she said, rolling her eyes.

"Is there a point to this holiday other than putting live trees in your living quarters?" he asked, watching her stir together the milk, eggs, and batter.

"There is definitely a point to it, but I doubt you'd get it."

"You don't seem to have much optimism for my intelligence," he said.

"It's a religious holiday, but since you're a Norse god, that kind of complicates things. It's not really the kind of holiday you Asgardians would celebrate."

"Perhaps not. People don't worship us as gods here anymore. That's a thing of the past." There was a lingering regret in Loki's eyes, but it disappeared after a moment.

"You're more of a myth now."

"How charming. I'm so glad I can be forgotten both here and in Asgard," Loki said bitterly. Then he turned to look at her, eyes shining a little. "But _you'd_ heard of me. Or did your little device tell you who I was?"

"I'd heard of you, I just couldn't remember quite who you were. I'm familiar with Norse mythology to an extent." She poured the batter out onto the skillet and then looked over to see if her coffee was done. It was. She poured herself a big mug of it. "Do you drink coffee?" she asked.

"Mostly wine. What's coffee?" He eyed the brown liquid suspiciously.

"It's good stuff." She poured him a mug. "Here."

He sniffed it before taking a small sip. He made a face. "It's bitter."

"Amateur." She took a gulp and then flipped the pancakes.

"What are these infernal things that you're making?" Loki asked. He seemed a lot more interested in his surroundings than he had the night before.

Aspen cast him a look. "Pancakes," she told him. "They're really good. I always add a touch of cinnamon to the batter."

Loki's face still looked pensive when she served him a steaming plate. He fingered the fork.

"You can put syrup or butter on them," Aspen said, indicating the bottle of maple syrup and the container of butter. She sat down across from him and coated both pancakes in butter before pouring a glob of syrup on top. He watched her and then reached for the syrup, squeezing the smallest bit of it onto the top of his pancakes. Aspen watched as he took his first bite, chewing slowly.

"Well?" she asked. She realized she was anxiously awaiting a Norse demigod's opinion of her cooking and mentally kicked herself.

"It has merit," he said. "It's actually quite good." Aspen beamed. "I don't understand why you're showing me such kindness," Loki said a moment later. He was watching her, eyes dark.

"I don't see what treating you like a prisoner is going to get me."

"So it's still about getting something from me?" She caught the dangerous underlying tone and tensed. "Well, I can assure you, I'm not one for sentiment," he just said, taking another bite.

"I'm not either. I've had very few people show me any in my lifetime. I'm not about to go soft."

"Ah, but that is the weakness of the human race: sentiment. It blinds them."

"Now we're back to insulting humans? Sentiment doesn't make people weak, but it can blind them, you're right. That's why I don't get sentimental on the job." Well, perhaps not sentimental, but there were plenty of other emotions she felt that Loki would call weak.

"What do you do exactly? Are you a guard of some sort? A warrior?" he asked.

"Something like that." She sighed. "I used to be a smuggler. I collected items for a dealer. Things went south though, and I barely escaped his employment with my life. Things have improved since then."

"And who do you work for now?" he asked.

"Why do you care?" she accused.

"Just trying to make conversation." He tried another sip of his coffee and winced.

"Then tell me why you were cast out of Asgard."

"I already told you."

"Not really. You and your father had a disagreement over something and he didn't approve after you tried to kill all the…Frost Giants, did you call them? How did you get here though? And why does your father think Thor is a better choice for the throne when you say he's arrogant?"

"You said you know of Norse 'mythology,' don't you know my life story already?" he asked spitefully.

"Historians recorded that information. I'm sitting across from the real Loki right now. Who do you think is more credible?"

Loki gave her a hard stare which she met defiantly, green eyes blazing while his ice blue eyes were chilling. "Fine," he said, tone silky. "Where shall we start? How about the battle with the Frost Giants where my _father_," he spat out the word, "took me after slaying my real father."

"Odin isn't really your father?" Aspen asked.

"I am Loki Lauyfeyson. He was king of the Frost Giants." His eyes blazed as he spoke and for a moment his skin looked ice pale as if touched by frost. She thought she saw a glint of red in his eyes before it vanished. He turned away from her, looking out the window. "My father spared me, raised me as his own alongside Thor. We were told that we were both born to be kings but that only one of us would ascend to the throne. I just didn't realize at the time that the throne I was born to ascend to had been destroyed by my adoptive father." The bitterness was clear in his tone, and Aspen felt a stab of sympathy.

"When did you find out that you were adopted?" she asked.

"Not long ago. I'm not sure how much time has passed. The universe runs on its own time."

"Well if you were involved with what happened on Earth when Thor was here, then it's been six months. How did you find out?"

"I had always known I was different, but then when I was battling the Frost Giants with my brother, one of them touched my arm. It gave another of the warriors a terrible frostbite, but my skin changed at the touch. I couldn't feel the freeze like the others. Then back home I tried touched the Casket of Ancient Winters. No man can withstand its touch, but I transformed into what I really was when I touched it. A monster." His words hung in the air. "My father found me and told me the truth. He had found me, abandoned, and had taken me in and raised me as his own. All that time I'd thought I was one of them when I was really the very thing he had fought against." His hands clenched, and Aspen could see how much this still upset him. "He told me that he had not just taken me out of compassion. He had taken me because he thought that it would guarantee peace between his people and the Frost Giants. I never had any chance to ascend to the Asgard throne. It was all a lie."

"He lied to protect you."

"You know nothing of why he lied to me," Loki said, slamming his fist on the table and spilling coffee.

"You say that sentiment is a weakness of humans, but I see it in you as well, Loki. Somehow I think it's the only thing that is keeping you Asgardian and not a monster." She grabbed the dirty dishes and began rinsing them in the sink, leaving Loki to contemplate her words. After she had loaded all the dishes into the dishwasher and started it, she took a wet rag and cleaned up the spilled coffee. Loki didn't look at her, but when she went to move away, he grabbed her wrist – not tightly like before, but with a gentleness that surprised her.

"I'm sorry for my temper with you," he said. "You don't deserve my anger."

Aspen studied his eyes, but she could see no lies in them. He slowly released his grip on her wrist, hand sliding down hers until it rested on the table. The silver cuff gleamed.

"You think because you're not sitting on a throne that you aren't where you belong. Have you ever considered that there are other ways to be great?" Aspen asked. "You said you think things through and that would make you a better leader than your brother and yet here you sit bristling with anger at the very mention of him. If there is one thing I've learned in this life, it's that you can't sit around waiting for what you want. You have to go find it and sometimes it's not what you thought it would be."

She tossed the dishrag in the sink, wiping her hands on the front of her robe. "I'm going to take a shower and get dressed. Just don't go anywhere." She left him sitting at the table, locking herself in her room and tossing clothes into the bathroom. The hot water pounding on her neck and shoulders relaxed her a bit, but she was feeling the beginnings of a tension headache in her temples. She stood in the shower for a long while until the water turned tepid and then shut it off, wrapping herself in a towel. She wiped away the steam from the mirror and stared at her reflection. What was she doing? She should have turned Loki into SHIELD the second he fell to Earth. Not unlike Thor's hammer, he was something that didn't belong on Earth, and SHIELD would want to know why he was here. Somehow she couldn't bring herself to do it though. SHIELD would interrogate him until they cracked him, and from what she knew of Loki in the day since she had met him was that he was not going to crack under tension. She had gotten somewhere with him that morning though. He had, perhaps unintentionally, bared his heart to her. He put on an act of anger and malice, but really he was hurting because his father had turned his back on him, had lied to him all his life. He was wounded. He might play the heartless villain, but he was much more human than he realized.

Aspen dried her hair and tossed it up in a bun before dressing. She left her room and found the apartment empty. She cursed. Then she heard someone approach her from behind. She whirled around to find Loki holding his hands up. "Easy," he said. "Get your coat."

"What?"

"I imagine you get cold outside." He indicated the window. It was snowing lightly.

"But why are we going outside?" she asked.

"Do you trust me?" His eyes glowed mischievously.

"No."

He cocked his head. "Probably wise. Just come with me." When she still hesitated, he held out his arm with the cuff. "What am I going to do?" he asked. "I'm unarmed, have no use of my powers, and I have a feeling you're much more dangerous than your tiny form appears."

"I'm not tiny," Aspen said gruffly, grabbing her winter coat along with a scarf, hat, and pair of gloves. She slid her feet into her warm winter boots. Loki was still wearing the strange armor with his green cloak.

"Aren't you going to get cold or do you not feel the cold?" she asked, grabbing her apartment keys.

"I don't tend to get cold," he said, following her out. They took the elevator downstairs and then he took the lead, heading toward the park.

"Wait," Aspen said, jogging to keep up with his long stride. "Where are we going?"

"You humans have no patience. Are all of you this suspicious?" he asked, walking into the front gates of the park.

"Only the ones chasing after an infuriatingly secretive trickster in a snowstorm," she retorted. They were a little distance into the park when Loki stopped abruptly. Aspen ran into his shoulder.

"Why are we here?" she asked. He looked down at her, lifting a brow.

"You told me this morning that humans had this…desire to fill their homes with live trees on Christmas. I didn't know how you were going to fit one in your home. I suspect that most humans must live in larger abodes. So I brought you to a tree. I can't imagine what you're going to do with it, but I thought we should observe at least one human tradition, no matter how trivial."

Aspen stared up at him. "That was…surprisingly thoughtful," she said.

His eyes narrowed. "If you imply that I'm being sentimental…"

"I wouldn't dream of it," she said with a smirk. She stepped toward the tree he had chosen. "You know, most people pick smaller trees. There are these places called Christmas tree lots where they have trees specially grown for this occasion. They're only seven feet tall or so. It's illegal to cut down trees like this." She turned back to him. "Thank you though," she said. "It's a nice tree."

Loki wasn't looking at her anymore. He had tensed and was looking at something just past her shoulder. She stiffened, senses going on alert. Now that they were not talking, she could hear something shifting behind her. It was probably just a wild animal, but her hand went down to her belt. That's when she realized she'd forgotten to put it on. She was unarmed. She had a knife in her boot, but that wouldn't do much good in an attack. She turned around slowly and peered into the woods. She couldn't see anything, but the shuffling was getting closer. She jumped as Loki came up behind her, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"It is possible," he told her, "that I did not come to Earth alone."

"What do you mean?" she looked up at him sharply. This close to him, she could see the different shades of blue ringing his eyes.

"I mean, there are lots of things that get lost out in the universe. If a portal opens, it's possible that more than one thing escapes."

"What kind of things are we talking about? More tricksters?"

He ignored her jab. "Something much more dangerous," he replied. "This would be a ideal time to remove this infernal cuff."

"What? I don't think so," she said, moving away so that his hand fell from her shoulder. "For all I know you bought this thing here. Whatever it is."

"I can assure you that I did not. With this thing on my arm, I'm nearly human. You don't appear to be armed, so our only chance is my power."

"We don't even know what it is. I'm not freeing you just because a squirrel decided to romp through the forest."

"A what?"

"Never mind." She drew the knife from her boot. "Just stay there. I'm going to go investigate." She had only walked a few steps when Loki matched her steps. "I said stay there," she told him irritably.

"And let you handle it with that pathetic knife?" he asked. "If you won't free me, then the least I can do is come with you. I should probably just leave you, but if you die then I'll never get this cuff off."

"I see. So it's extrinsic motivations all the way." She fell silent as they neared whatever was making the sound. They were in a deeper cluster of trees now, removed from the pathway. She held her knife out before her, pretending that it could inflict a lot more damage than it actually could. There was a grumbling sort of sound ahead. She stopped short and could feel Loki hovering behind her.

"You look positively fear-inspiring with that tiny blade," he told her, leaning close to her ear so that his breath tickled her neck.

"Shut up," she threw back at him. The grumbling turned into a growl.

"I think it heard you," Loki said.

The ground shuddered and Aspen nearly lost her balance. She felt Loki's hand on her waist steadying her and jerked away, throwing a glare back at him. "What is it?" she asked.

"I'm not sure, but I have a bad feeling about this."

Aspen turned back to see something detaching itself from the shadows. It was huge. She took a step back. The beast was at least ten feet tall with a long face and sharp teeth that put Aspen's knife to shame. Its body was scaly like a reptile and it had a long tail and deadly looking claws. It looked down at Aspen with beady, hungry looking eyes.

"Oh, one of those…" Loki said. "It's not too late to take off this cuff." The beast gave a roar and started toward them. "Or perhaps it is."

Aspen stood her ground, wielding the small knife. She wasn't sure what exactly she was going to do, but she refused to run. She crouched, ready to slice up as the creature came at her. Then an arm grasped her around the waist and pulled her out of the monster's path before she could slash at it. She fell in a heap on top of Loki.

"What are you doing?" she asked, trying to untangle herself. He gripped her arm.

"Saving your life. You really think you're going to take that thing with that puny little knife?"

"It's all I have, so yes. We can't let that thing get loose in New York."

"Then we need a plan," he told her. "I think I have one."

"I'm not taking that cuff off of you," she hissed. His cold eyes sparkled, and she realized she was still lying across his chest, her arm firmly grasped in his hand.

"That's not what I was going to suggest, although your reconsidering might save our lives. No? Alright. You need to distract it while I kill it."

"How do I know you're not just going to let it eat me so you can escape?"

"Haven't I already told you? I need you because you can get this off of me." He waved the cuff in front of her nose.

"Fine. What do you need me to do?" She could hear the beast turning back to look for them.

"I need you to keep its attention on you. And I need your knife."

She lifted an eyebrow at him. "I thought you said it was puny."

"Well it's the only weapon we have right now, so it'll have to do." He finally let go of her arm and she got up, brushing herself off.

"I hope you know what you're doing," she said before handing him her knife and stepping out in front of the creature. "Hey!" she shouted.

The beast roared, looking down at her with fiery eyes. It clawed at the ground as if it was about to charge. Aspen realized it must be just as confused and lost as Loki. It'd just dropped out of the universe in a foreign place. She supposed she would be feeling a bit grumpy too. It had clearly decided to take it out on her, however, and started after her. She jumped into action, sprinting toward a tree and vaulting up the trunk. She grabbed one of the higher branches and pulled herself up out of the monster's reach. It hit the trunk headfirst with a sickening crunch. The entire tree shook, but held. It backed up a few paces, dizzily shaking its head. That's when Loki landed on its neck and drove the knife straight through its head. The beast gave a horrific howl that Aspen was sure carried across half the park and then collapsed. Loki pulled the knife out and hopped to the ground, wiping the blade clean in the snow before handing it back to Aspen.

"Alright, I'm impressed," she said, taking the knife back. "Have you fought one of these before?"

"As it happens, yes. Clearly you've had some training."

"I can take care of myself," Aspen said with a smirk.

"Clearly."

"Well, I can honestly say this has been a Christmas like no other and it's only ten o'clock," Aspen said. "I don't know about you, but I could use some hot chocolate."


	13. Infiltration

**11 – Infiltration – December 31, 2011**

The next week passed without even a fraction of the excitement Aspen had experienced Christmas day. She'd kept Loki in her apartment trying to figure out more about him. He was less hostile after their run-in with the beast, but he still hadn't opened up to her. Whatever emotion he had shown before over his family had been carefully hidden behind a placid expression. He spent his time pouring over her history textbooks and atlas as if he couldn't learn enough about the world. Aspen kept a wary eye on him, but her winter break was only another week long, and she was expected back at work the next day. He hadn't tried anything, but she couldn't keep him forever. The trouble was, she had no idea how to get him home. Whenever she brought it up, he told her that his brother had destroyed the only way back to Asgard. He had no idea how he'd come to Earth. He'd failed to elaborate and usually refused to speak to her if she mentioned his brother. He asked her a lot of questions about New York, but she answered sparingly. It was like a game of theirs to see who could give away the least amount of information. She usually lost. Loki had a way of infuriating her into a rant. In fact, he seemed to be very skilled at pushing her buttons. He was also skilled in smoothing things out. Aspen never trusted someone like that - he was a manipulator to put it simply.

Today she came back from the grocery store to find him watching the news on her TV. Cars were on fire in a little Middle Eastern town and people were screaming. "Your world is not the happy place you would have me believe it is," he said without looking up at her.

"I never said it was a happy place," she replied, setting the grocery bags on the kitchen table.

"Perhaps it's because I've been locked up in this tiny apartment for a week, but I'm not seeing a whole lot of the good on your planet."

"There's good out there. You just have to look for it." She started putting away the groceries, unsurprised when Loki offered no help.

"I'd have to see that to believe it," he said. "Every button on this stick has showed me something on fire or has told me some story about someone dying at the hands of another human. I see no good there."

"That's because it's the news. They get paid to talk about bad things." Aspen shut the cupboard door with a loud bang. Loki finally looked up at her.

"Or because humans are fascinated with the horrors of this world. They can't wait to get their hands on the latest story of brutality. Am I wrong?"

"You think that there's no good in this world?" Aspen asked. "Get up."

"Why?" He narrowed his eyes at her.

"Just get up. I'm going to show you something good. And take that ridiculous cape off, we're not going to a costume party."

Loki cast her a glare, but accepted the black jacket she handed him. It was baggy on her, so she figured it would fit him. It was one Clint had left there months ago and had forgotten about. Loki shrugged it on, and suddenly he looked a little more normal. "Come on." Aspen shut of the TV.

She thought Loki was going to protest, but he followed her after a moment. She couldn't help but notice the sparkle of interest in his eyes as they walked down the street. This was the first time since Christmas morning that she had taken him outside her apartment. She had to keep reminding herself that while he was potentially dangerous, he was still a newcomer to a whole new world. "Clearly your advancements are not comparable to ours," he said, eyeing a tall apartment building as they worked their way down some of the residential blocks.

"We'll get there. If there's one thing you should know about humans, it's that they are always coming up with new ways to advance technology."

"For all their technology, can they stop war though?"

"What is it with you and war?" she asked him with a glower. "We're focusing on happy things today. Good things."

"Alright, you have my attention."

Aspen kept walking until they reached the place she'd had in mind. It was a small orphanage built right in alongside the tall, brick apartment buildings. Right now children of all ages were streaming out of the building and heading out into the city with an adult. "See those kids?" she asked. "They're orphans." She carefully watched Loki's face and thought she saw flicker of emotion behind his blue eyes but it was gone before she could be sure. "On Christmas each year, hundreds of donations are made to give them toys and other presents so that they aren't left out. On December 31st, it's tradition for a volunteer to spend the day with the kids. They're each assigned a qualified adult who basically takes them wherever they want to go – the zoo, the museum, out for ice cream. It's a program that was started several years back."

They stood on the other side of the street watching the beaming children as they chatted to their mentors. Several of the smaller children were holding toys cradled carefully in their arms.

"Touching." She looked up at him, glaring.

"It's more than touching," she said. "It's people reaching out to help those less fortunate than themselves. There are examples of this all over the world, but you miss it if you chose to focus on the war and on the panic and chaos. That's only the illusion war brings. There's far less chaos and disorder than you might imagine."

"I'm curious," Loki said, turning to look down at her, "to know just what exactly you're trying to accomplish by showing me this."

"I'm trying to show you that there is good in this world," Aspen told him, meeting his gaze.

"And that's all?"

"What else would I be trying to do?" she asked.

"I thought perhaps by you showing me bits of humanity that you meant to bring out the humanity in me." His words were biting. "But I can assure you, I'm not touched by sentiment."

"No, just a blindness. And in your blindness you miss everything around you that might actually make you happy," she snapped at him.

"You think me unhappy?" His eyes danced with amusement.

"Well clearly you've got _some_ problem." She refrained from using a few more choice words. "You parade around pretending to be all powerful and great and show distain for anything remotely tied to sentiment or kindness when really you're upset because your father didn't accept you for who you were. Because he cast you out. You're acting like a little child whose older brother got the bigger toy truck for Christmas. Grow up."

With that she stomped away, not even caring right then whether or not Loki followed. When she looked back after a block, she saw that he was slowly following, his eyebrows furrowed as if thinking hard about her words. They returned to the apartment in silence, Aspen still fuming over Loki's attitude toward humanity.

"My mother would like you very much." Loki's next words surprised Aspen so much, she forgot that she was angry with him for a moment.

"_What_?" she asked incredulously.

"I said-"

"No, I heard you, I'm just trying to process this."

Loki narrowed his eyes. "It's really not that difficult of a concept."

"Are we talking about your biological Frost Giant mother or your adopted Asgardian mother?"

"We're talking about the only mother I knew," Loki's tone was dangerous. "She's queen of Asgard and is both strong _and_ sentimental. Somehow she manages to find a balance."

"What's her name?" Aspen asked more softly.

"Frigga," Loki told her. "She's one of the few who stands up to my father. All the people love her."

"You miss her?"

"She's one of the few people who never stopped loving me," Loki said spitefully.

"I don't think your father or brother ever stopped loving you either. You just shut yourself off from it." She expected Loki to snap in retort, but he didn't say anything. His shoulders were slumped, and he was more unguarded than she had ever seen him. She approached it cautiously, nudging the door open a tiny bit wider. "Not everything is lost," she told him. "Maybe it's _you_ who needs to stop pushing them away. Your own self-hatred is consuming you."

"Self-hatred?"

"You don't see it? I do. You hate that you failed to gain the Asgardian throne, but you're not one to take something like that by force. You wanted your father to see that with your intelligence and thoughtfulness that you could be a better ruler than your brother. And when that didn't happen…it became something that you had failed at. Something you hated about yourself. You take out that hatred on your family because it's easier that way, but in truth, it's _you_ you're furious at."

Loki just stared at her, eyes thoughtful. "I did learn one thing about humans today," he said softly. "They're much more intuitive than I ever would have imagined." He turned to enter the spare room. "At least one of them," he said before closing the door. Aspen stared after him, a bit shocked that he'd handled that so well. She'd finally realized just what made him tick – what made him angry, what his weaknesses were. No matter how hard he tried to hide it, how high and thick the wall he built, he was still nearly human on the other side.

…

The day she had to go back to work, she confronted him as he sat looking at one of her science textbooks. "I have to go to work today," she told him. "I will be back at four. You know how to make lunch without burning down the apartment, so I'm trusting you with that. If you are not here when I get back, I will hunt you down and it will not be pleasant when I catch up to you."

He didn't glance up from the textbook. Their conversation from the day before had not been mentioned again, and Loki seemed to be giving her the cold shoulder today. "And you might as well do my homework while you're at it," she said archly. "Five-page essay on black holes. Kind of like the thing you fell through. I kind of wish another one would swing by and take you with it."

"You're going to be late if you don't leave," Loki told her, still not looking up. He must have known how much it irritated her, but she willed herself to stay calm.

"Alright then."

"Have a good day," he called after her. "Do be sure to give them my love."

Aspen froze at the door. "You're lucky I haven't told them about you yet."

"But when they find out, I have a feeling you aren't going to be so lucky."

"Neither will you so stay put. If you're not here when I get back, I _will_ be telling them."

"I'll remember that."

Aspen fumed all the way out to her car. She was realizing that she really needed to do something about Loki. He couldn't live with her forever. Another day was feeling like far too long. They'd come to a sort of understanding that allowed them to live semi-peaceably. Aspen just couldn't quite grasp what it was Loki was after. Maybe he didn't know either. Maybe he had just fallen here by accident.

She felt like she had been away for ages, she realized as she pulled into the SHIELD parking lot. Fury had sent her a message instructing her to stop by his office for a new assignment that morning. She felt a bit nervous as her thoughts flitted to Loki sitting in her living room. She entered Fury's office and found him looking over some paperwork.

"Take a seat, Tolvar," he said when she entered his office. She sat down, tapping her foot nervously against the leg of the chair. "Have a good holiday?" Fury asked, jotting down a note on the piece of paper he was looking at.

"Oh, yeah. Just a nice quiet Christmas," she said, biting her lip. That was if you counted being attacked by an extra terrestrial monster. She didn't see the point in bringing it up considering it could do no harm now.

"I need you to look at some research that I assigned the Psi-Division quite a few months ago. I've seen very little progress, and I'm beginning to think the scientific method is just above their intellect." He handed her a keycard. "This will give you access to all the research they have. They are supposed to be developing a serum that will make psychic ability transferable. Similar to your parents' formula, it brings out the parts of the brain that are not always accessible to everyone. This serum is supposed to take what the Psi-Division does and make that accessible to other agents."

"But they haven't made any progress?"

"I saw some progress in the first few months of their research, but they've been dragging their feet the last few months. I'd like you to look into it. See what's slowing them down."

"Yes, sir."

"Any problems, just let me know. Sometimes scientists can get a little touchy about other people looking at their work, but they aren't giving me what I need."

"I'll keep you updated." She left his office and headed down to the Psi-Division. She'd never had much interaction with the agents in that particular department. She wasn't quite sure what they did there or what kind of abilities they had. It seemed like having psychic powers was something that might come out if a person was injected with her parents' Superhero Serum, but she supposed some people were born with natural abilities for it. She used the scan card to get into the department doors and found herself in a large office. Everyone fell silent and looked up at her when she entered.

"Hi, I'm Agent Tolvar. I'm here to look into the research on the Psychic Serum via orders from Fury."

"Our research?" a man spoke up, looking unhappy. "We're working on it. I don't see how Fury thinks he can send in just anyone to look at it. It's in a sensitive stage right now."

"Well, I have my orders." Aspen felt a little nervous. Why was everyone staring at her with such hostile glare? "If I could just have access to one of your computers?" She was afraid that they weren't going to comply, but then the man picked up a hard drive from one of the desks and handed it to her.

"If you insist on looking into our work, you'll have to do it somewhere else," he said. "This isn't a good place for outsiders right now. The experiments are sensitive."

"You said. Alright, I'll take this down to my lab." She turned to leave, but hesitated for a second. One of the women working at the desk next to her was looking at her with white eyes. The skin on her hand looked grey and sickly. Aspen blinked in surprise and the woman's eyes were brown again.

"We hope you find the results satisfying," the man who had given her the hard drive said. Something about his voice was quickly unnerving Aspen.

She nodded wordlessly, leaving the room hastily. She hurried back to her lab, shutting herself in. She kept trying to tell herself that stress was making her see things, but that woman hadn't been human for a second. She knew she should probably inform Fury right away, but she knew nothing about the Psi-Division. It could have been a science experiment gone wrong. Maybe she had been one of the test subjects to the serum they were trying to develop. She plugged the hard drive into her computer, trying to distract herself. She familiarized herself with the data, comparing it to what she knew about her parents' serum. The basics of what they had were good. Their findings were sound. Something wasn't adding up though. Aspen took a closer look at the chemicals they had been using. It appeared that they had been using their own blood for the serum. Maybe if Aspen got a sample and tried to create the serum herself, she could better understand why it wasn't working.

She picked up the phone next to her computer and dialed a number. "Charlie, I'm going to need a blood sample from the Psi-Division," she said. Charlie was SHIELD's latest employee and worked as a go-between for the different departments. He was the son of one of the scientists or something. He'd come on just before Christmas break, and Aspen was enjoying giving the orders for once.

"I'm on it," he said before hanging up.

He entered her lab ten minutes later. "Hey, Charlie, did you notice anything...odd while you were in the Psi-Division?" she asked.

"Those guys always give me the creeps," he said.

"But I mean more than usual."

He gave her a strange look, his emerald eyes narrowed. He handed her the blood sample and ran a hand through his already disheveled carrot-red hair. "Nooo," he dragged out the word. "Should I have?"

"Probably not. Never mind." She took the blood sample over to her desk. "Thanks for this," she said.

"Yeah, no problem. Just holler if you need anything else." He cast her a worried look before leaving her lab.

Great. Now the intern thought she was crazy. Aspen put on plastic gloves and took an eyedropper to the sample, dripping the blood onto a glass slide to put under the microscope. She dropped the clear square cover over the liquid and slid the glass under her microscope, adjusting the lens until the image was clear. "Whoa." There was something very odd about the sample. The usual elements were all there but then there were the little white dots that danced around like live organisms. It appeared to be a virus of some sort. She made note of her findings before scanning over the notes again. She paused at a folder she hadn't noticed before. Clicking on the icon, she frowned as a restricted warning came up on her screen. She fingered the scan card Fury had given her. There was a button that said 'confirm authorization,' and she clicked it. A screen popped up that would allow her to scan a card. As soon as she swiped it in front of the monitor, the computer beeped its acceptance. The folder was filled with different formulas and notes. Aspen spent the next fifteen minutes wading through them, her suspicions rising every page she read. She paused on the last formula document. Something was very off about this one. They should have been accelerating the brain's action, but this serum was made to repress any sort of abilities. It muted the effectiveness of the brain causing it to function at half its normal level. They Psi-Division was doing the exact opposite of what Fury wanted, but why?

She heard someone enter the lab. "Forget something, Charlie?" she asked.

No one replied. Aspen tensed, her hand going to her belt where she kept her dart gun. She drew it and turned in one swift motion. The man from the Psi-Division stood there only he had changed. His skin was a sickly grey and his eyes were a dead white. She couldn't help the revulsion that passed over her face.

"You can see me?" he said, his voice rough and guttural.

"What exactly are you?" she managed.

"Interesting." He ignored her question. "You are the first human I've come across who can see through our shifts."

Aspen rose to her feet, gun out in front of her. "I will ask you again - what are you?"

"Something far superior to you," it told her. "We've come to fix the human race."

"We don't need fixing, thank you. You're not the first to have thought so though." Her thoughts flitted to Loki and his views on the human race. "How did you get into SHIELD? This is a high-security compound."

"Humans are easy to manipulate," the creature told her. "With the right..._persuasion_."

"I found traces of something in one of the employee's blood. Are you injecting them with something?"

"Infiltrating your organization has proved almost too easy," the creature said, ignoring her question. "But you have gotten too close to the truth."

"Come any closer, and I'll put a bullet in your brain," she warned.

"You think your human weapons can stop us?"

There was the sound of something shifting behind Aspen. She turned her head just in time to see a six-fingered hand come straight at her head. She ducked and kicked out, striking the other creature that had appeared behind her. She reached for the button on the wall closest to her that would alert SHIELD, but something grabbed her by the throat before she could press it. Her gun fell to the floor and the creature kicked it across the room. Aspen struggled against his grip, but it was futile. His strength outmatched hers. She felt a prick on the side of her neck and the room began to swim until it finally grew black.

…

Aspen awoke on a cold hard ground. She groaned opening her eyes a crack. Her head felt as if someone had dropped a brick on it. Chains clanked as she moved her hand. She opened her eyes further and looked up at the cracked and dirty skylights above her. She was in an abandoned factory by the looks of it. She looked down at her arms and saw that her wrists had been chained to the floor. She tugged uselessly at the chain, but it wasn't going to budge. Her memories started to return to her, and she felt around for her cell phone. It was gone. She had no way of warning SHIELD about the security breach. She had no idea what the creatures were that had infiltrated it. She bet Loki would know but he was safely back at her apartment twiddling his thumbs. She cursed herself for having been so easily captured. Whatever these creatures were, they seemed to have the ability to shape shift. She'd seen that man turn into that grey creature. How had they infiltrated SHIELD though? She thought back to the white dots in the blood sample. Had they injected the SHIELD employees with something?

Before she had time to consider this, she heard footsteps behind her. She craned her neck to see one of the creatures striding toward her. It was dressed strangely and had its face covered by a helmet. It stopped in front of her. "Good, you're awake," it said. Its voice was grating and harsh. "I want to know why you can see me for who I really am."

"I don't know," Aspen said truthfully. "Was I supposed to miss the whole rotting flesh and creepy eyes?"

The creature hissed at her, crouching down and reaching out a six-fingered hand to grasp her chin. She tried to pull away, but it clenched her jaw together, forcing her to look at it. "Are you one of those psychics?" it asked her. She shook her head, unable to speak with its meaty hand clenching her jaw together. "They're the only humans who can sense our presence, but we took care of that. We took away their will-power, and now they obey us." He released her jaw roughly.

"I'm not psychic," Aspen told him. "I don't even work in the Psi-Division. I have no idea how I can see through your shape shifting."

"You're lying."

"I'm not lying. Maybe I'm special." The creature watched her for a moment and then struck out. She cried out as its hand struck her face. A bit of blood ran down her lip and her cheek stung.

"There is nothing special about humans. They live in chaos. They cannot handle the freewill given to them."

Aspen started at his words. Loki had said almost the same exact thing to her. "You don't belong here," she spat at him. "This is _our_ world. How dare you assume you have any right to judge us?" Her ears rang when he struck her again. She spat out some blood onto the concrete floor.

"Let's see just how feisty you are when you lose your freewill." The creature pulled out a wicked looking needle filled with purple liquid. She squirmed, but he jabbed it into her arm. She bit her lip to keep from crying out. She could feel the liquid entering her bloodstream.

"What is that?" she asked as he pulled the needle from her arm.

"Never you mind."

She felt overheated, her mind sharper than usual. The room was clearer too and vividly colored. The sensation overwhelmed her for a moment and then a fever broke out in her body. She fell back onto the ground, writhing as pain sliced through her body. She screamed. It felt as if tiny knives were jabbing her everywhere. Then the pain disappeared. She sat up, trembling. Her forehead was dotted with sweat, and she couldn't keep her breathing steady.

"What have you done to me?" she repeated.

"Now you are under my control," the creature said.

"I will _never_ be under your control," she spat.

He looked surprised and then angry. He hurled the needle at the wall and the glass end broke, spraying liquid over the rubble coated floor. "Why didn't it work?" he asked.

"Apparently I'm immune to whatever poison you were trying to feed me." She tried to hide her own surprise. Why was she different from the other humans these creatures had taken control over?

"What are you?" the creature asked. Aspen could hear a hint of fear behind his words.

"Someone you should fear," she said on a whim. "You made a grave mistake when you kidnapped me. You have no idea of what I can do." She barred her teeth at him. He actually took a step back.

"Then you would be better off dead," he said. He pulled a long shaft from across his back and held it toward her. It had a deadly looking point and glowed with a blue electrical light that resembled the mysterious blue energy. She tugged at the chains, but they were solid. The creature thrust the spear at her and she winced, waiting for the impact. It never came. Instead the creature was thrown across the room. Someone had his staff now. He strode across the room to where the creature lay and then thrust the staff into its chest. The creature gave a shudder and then fell still. The newcomer pulled the staff from its chest and turned to face Aspen.

"So," he said, "this is what you do at your job."


	14. Plan of Attack

**12 – Plan of Attack – December 31, 2011**

Aspen looked up at Loki, mouth open in surprise.

"Really, you could just thank me," he said, holding his hands out. "No?"

"How the hell did you get here?" she accused.

"Really? That's the first thing you say to me?" He took a step toward her. "I just saved your life. Again."

Aspen narrowed her eyes. "_We_ took down that beast. Besides, I'd had this covered."

"Clearly." He looked down at the chains keeping her on the ground. "I suppose you can get yourself out of this little mess too then." He turned to leave.

"Damnit, Loki, quit being clever and get me out of here," she growled.

He chuckled quietly before crouching down beside her and grabbing the chain where it was bolted into the floor. "Well, seeing as you took away any abilities I had that might have made this easier, I'm going to have to see what this staff can do about it." He aimed it at the chain where it was bolted into the floor. Aspen shut her eyes. She heard a blast and the chain came loose. Then the other. She opened her eyes.

"Handy little thing," Loki said, eyeing the staff. Aspen tugged on the cuffs around her wrists, but she couldn't quite get them off. "Annoying, isn't it?" Loki asked.

"Will you help me get these off?" she asked.

"Why should I? You're not going to take mine off."

"Well these only get in the way. I don't have any superpowers that need to be taken away." Her thoughts flitted to what the creature had said. "Do you know what that thing was?" she asked.

"Something unpleasant," Loki replied.

"That's not an answer."

"Fine. They're called Chitauri. I might have come across one or two while I was adrift in the universe."

"They can shape shift."

"Yes."

"And humans aren't supposed to be able to see through their disguises?"

"No, they aren't." Loki narrowed his eyes. "What are you getting at?"

"I could see it in its true form," she told him. "And then he injected me with some sort of stuff that was supposed to take away my willpower. It didn't work."

Loki was studying her intently now. He moved a hand toward her, and she shrunk away. "Easy," he said, gently taking her wrist and grasping the cuff. He pulled on it until the metal widened enough to slip it off of her wrist. Clearly he was still stronger than the average human.

"Why am I different?" Aspen asked. Loki paused before removing the other cuff.

"I don't know," he said after a moment. He met her eyes, his blue ones wide and honest. "You're not like any human I've ever met."

"You're only saying that because I'm the _only_ human you've ever met."

"Perhaps…" He started to pull on the other cuff, and Aspen felt a twinge of guilt at cuffing him. So far he hadn't done anything to try to harm her. Then she remembered the Chitauri's words about freewill and humans living in chaos. As Loki pulled the second cuff from her wrist, she caught his arm. He looked at her expectantly.

"When he was speaking to me, he told me that humans couldn't live with freewill, that they live in chaos. You said almost the same thing to me." Her eyes searched his.

"That was before I got to know you," he said. "Clearly not all humans can't handle freewill."

"Then you're not working with these creatures?" she asked.

Something flickered behind his eyes for a moment. "If you're implying I had something to do with your kidnapping and interrogation." His eyes flitted to the blood on her face. "I had nothing to do with that," he said, meeting her eyes again.

"Fine." She let go of his arm.

"That's it?" he asked.

"I'm trusting you to tell me the truth," she said.

"Are you sure that's wise?" he asked.

"If it's between trusting something like that and trusting you, I think I'll go with the one who hasn't beat me." Her cheek was still stinging and her jaw ached.

"What did he do to you?" Loki asked, his tone surprisingly gentle. He reached a hand up to turn her head so that he could see the bruises forming. His touch was as gentle as his voice, and Aspen felt herself relax.

"I'll be fine," she told him as his hand lingered on her face. He wiped a bit of blood from the corner of her mouth before pulling his hand away.

"Why am I the only one who came looking for you?" he asked.

"How did you find me? I thought I told you to wait in the apartment."

"And where would you be if I did that?" he asked her. She sighed. "When you didn't come home at four, I assumed that you'd stayed late. When five came, I was worried."

"You were waiting for me to come home?"

"Yes, well, it was getting a little _too_ quiet. I've gotten used to your incessant rambling. I was trying to use that infernal thing you set in front of me the other day-"

"My laptop?"

"-when something on the screen started beeping at me. It appeared to be some sort of tracking device."

"My tracker." Aspen touched the necklace she wore. She had installed a tiny tracker when she had joined ARTIFACT at her aunt's insistence. That way she could always know just where Aspen was. She'd thought it to be entirely unnecessary and had never worn the necklace, but since she and her aunt had gotten to be on better terms, she'd started wearing it again. She'd set it up so that her computer would always know where she was.

"It gave me this address, so using that handy atlas of yours, I was able to track you. Just in time it would seem."

"Thank you." He lifted a dark eyebrow. "For saving my life. There I said it, happy?" She tried to get to her feet, but her head started hurting so badly she felt as if it was about to split open. She sat back down. "Okay, moving is not a good idea."

"Well we can't stay here. More might come." Aspen looked up, half expecting a troop of Chitauri to walk in. She struggled to get to her feet, but her head was aching so badly that her vision was blurring.

"I think I'm feeling the side effects of that drug they gave me," she said. "I'm not sure I can walk." She heard Loki sigh and then felt an arm grasp her around the waist and under her knees. Then she was in Loki's arms. "Hey!" she said. "Put me down. I'm not some damsel in distress."

Loki looked down at her. "Believe me, I'm not enjoying this any more than you are, but we need to get out of here, and I'm not really seeing another way around this."

Aspen was nearly blind with pain, so she resignedly rested her head against his shoulder and let him carry her from the building. She was determined to walk after that, but somewhere along the line she fell unconscious again and when she woke up, she was being set on her bed at home. Loki sat down next to her.

"Are you going to be alright?" There was genuine concern in his voice.

"I think so," Aspen said. "I just need to sleep."

"Then I'll leave you." He stood, but Aspen caught his hand.

"Thank you," she said weakly. "I'm not used to relying on other people to save me. I'd be dead right now if you hadn't come after me. Why did you come?"

She thought that he wasn't going to answer for a moment. She wasn't even sure why she cared. Her mind was feeling so sleepy, but she stayed awake to hear his answer.

"Sentiment," was all he said before pulling his hand from hers and leaving her to sleep.

…

When Aspen awoke early the next morning, the events from the day before hit her like a slap in the face. "Frick!" she fumbled for her phone and then hesitated. She should have called SHIELD the day before. She should have called them the second she was able to. But SHIELD had been compromised. The Chitauri were inside of it. She didn't know who to trust. They could shape shift and take over minds. She needed someone on the outside who hadn't had contact with SHIELD in awhile. Who knew how long the Chitauri had been there though. She had to risk it anyway. She dialed a familiar number, waiting impatiently until Clint's voice answered.

"Pen?" he asked. "I'm kind of in the middle of something." She heard gun shots in the background.

"Is Natasha with you?" she asked. "This is an emergency. SHIELD has been infiltrated." There was silence on the other end for a moment. "Clint?"

"I heard you. Who infiltrated?"

"Creatures called the Chitauri."

"Never heard of them."

"Well, I…I've read about them in one of my mythology books," she fibbed. "They're able to shape shift. And they've been injecting SHIELD agents with a drug that takes away their willpower. They hit the Psi-Division hard because I guess they can detect Chitauri."

Clint let out a string of curses on the other line. Aspen waited until he was done. "So you'll come?"

"Yeah, I'll come. Who else had been compromised?"

"That's just it. I don't know. The Chitauri knocked me out before I could warn anyone. It's just you and me." And Loki, but somehow she couldn't tell Clint about him. Not yet. If ever…

"So it's just the three of us."

"What?"

"You, me and Tasha."

"Oh, right." She'd forgotten about Natasha for a moment, her thoughts lingering on Loki. What had he said the night before when she'd asked him why he'd saved her? Sentiment? After everything he'd said against it?

"We'll get there as soon as we can. I'll contact Coulson. He's in Florida, so he should be alright."

"Just get here as fast as you can. Meet me at the bar we play pool at. I'll make sure I'm not followed."

"Stay safe."

"Yeah, you too," Aspen said as she heard more gunfire in the background. She hung up and went into the bathroom to wash her face. The bruises stood out against her pale skin and her cheek was sensitive to her touch. She was still in her clothes from the night before and there was dried blood on the front of her shirt. She tugged it off and put on a fresh one before leaving her room.

Loki was standing at the window looking out over the park. She could tell that he heard her by the way his shoulders tensed ever so slightly. He turned to look at her, ice blue eyes penetrating. She felt heat rise to her cheeks as she thought about his rescue the day before.

"I called a couple of agents I work with," she said. "They're coming to help."

"And the three of you are going to defeat all these creatures with advanced weaponry by yourselves?"

"I don't know who has been compromised," Aspen said.

"And I don't suppose you're going to let me help."

"They'll lock you up the second this is over. Unless…" She was beginning to get an idea.

"Why do I get the feeling I'm not going to like this?" he asked.

Aspen smiled sweetly at him. "If you don't act like the alien you are, then maybe we can pull this off. You know more about these creatures than anyone."

"I'm not an alien, I'm-"

"A demi-god, right." She waved a hand dismissively at him. "What you need is a set of clothes that don't look straight out of _Star Wars_ and a back story."

"And that's going to fool your friends? Somehow I don't think a change of clothes will be convincing."

"There's no way to know all the agents in SHIELD. You don't have to have direct contact with anyone. Are you willing to help fight?"

Loki looked conflicted for a moment, and Aspen felt her guard rise again. "And will you free me if I help you fight?" he asked. His voice was soft, but Aspen could hear the underlying tension.

"We'll see."

"I have done nothing to harm you," he told her. "Do you still not trust me after all we've been through?"

"Trust doesn't come easy to me," Aspen told him. "I've been betrayed and abandoned too many times."

"I too have been betrayed and abandoned," he said, his eyes never leaving hers. "We have more in common than you're willing to admit."

"Perhaps." She looked away.

"If helping you will earn your trust, then I will do it," he told her.

She looked back up at him. "Good. I think I have some clothes that should fit you. I keep them on hand for a friend." She went into the room he had been staying in and pulled out a pair of black pants and a black T-shirt. She also had Clint's black jacket. "Try these on," she told him. "And lose the cape." She shut the door behind him and sat down at her laptop. She logged onto the SHIELD database but there was no red alert. Everything was normal to everyone else's knowledge. She thought about contacting Fury, but she was too afraid to get anyone involved who might have been compromised.

She needed to know how the Chitauri had injected the SHIELD employees with their drug to subdue willpower. She thought back to the white particles in the bloodstream. She didn't think it was possible to inject them with a needle the way she had been injected. She looked down at her bruised arm. Then there was the matter of her apparent immunity to the Chitauri's injection. She would call her aunt about that when this was all over. Maybe she knew something more.

She shut her eyes and envisioned the floor plan for the SHIELD headquarters. She needed to figure out how many of the Chitauri had infiltrated the headquarters. If she could see through their shape shifting abilities then she was their best hope for figuring out just what they were up against. What she needed was to get that blood sample from her lab. With the traces of the drug, she would be able to trace who was under mind control. And the Chitauri… Her thoughts flashed to the dead one in the abandoned factory. If she could get a sample of its blood, she should be able to trace all the Chitauri's in SHIELD headquarters. She had just the tool, something she'd come up with during a chemistry lab at school. It could trace elements or certain blood types.

She jumped when Loki came up behind her. "Relax," he said. "So far the Chitauri don't seem to have tracked you."

"I have a plan." She stood to face him and then stopped at the sight of him in the SHIELD issued outfit. "Wow, you look…" she struggled for the right word. "Human?"

"I'm not sure that counts as a compliment." He tilted his head.

"Your hair is far too long, you know," she threw at him before grabbing her hat from the wall and pulling her hair up under it.

"Is that going to affect the mission?" he asked, narrowing his eyes.

"Well, no. I just thought I'd throw that out there while we're being honest."

"What are you doing?" Loki watched her as she strapped a belt on, stowing her dart guns and knives. "Going into battle?"

"I need to retrieve something from my lab," she told him. "A blood sample that will help me figure out who is under the Chitauri's mind control. I need you to do me a favor. Remember that Chitauri you killed in the factory? I need a sample of his blood too. Think you can handle that?"

"I think I can manage," he said.

"Good. Put this on." She tossed him a baseball cap which he caught, looking down at it in disgust. "If I'm not back in two hours, come find me," she said. "Good luck."

Loki watched her leave, still holding the cap in his hands. Aspen parked her Audi several blocks away from SHIELD headquarters. She pulled the cap lower over her head and swiped her card. If the Chitauri were monitoring the people coming into the headquarters, then she probably didn't have much time. She kept her head down as she headed to her lab, crossing paths with several agents along the way. No one said anything to her or acknowledged her with more than a nod of the head. She reached her lab, quickly entering. There were no signs of her struggle the day before. She hurried over to her desk, hoping that the blood sample was still there. It was. She unlocked a drawer in her desk and pulled out Experiment #35. This was her pride and joy. She'd been working on it since she'd started college. She just needed to finish configuring it to her computer network so she could read its results. She hooked it up and then added a drop of the blood. The computer screen showed the progress bar. It jumped up to 25% and then slowed.

"Come on, come on," she muttered. She tapped her fingers on her leg. 35%. There was a red notice that popped up on the screen next to her. She looked over. 'Security Breach: Lab Four.' She swore. "Hurry up!" 50%. She could hear the sound of running feet a floor above her. 67%. 81%. The bar sped up until her computer dinged at her. 100%. She unplugged the scanner and tucked it into her belt. She slipped out of the lab and took a sharp left. She tried to act casual as several agents passed her. She was nearly at the doors when she heard a shout behind her. She turned to see a man looking straight at her. Her scanner beeped from under her jacket. He was under the Chitauri's control.

"Do you have authorization to be here?" he asked.

"I'm just an intern," she said. "I was delivering something to one of the labs. What's going on anyway?"

"We have a security breach. Did you see anyone else down here?" he asked, narrowing his eyes in suspicion.

"I saw someone leaving one of the labs. They headed the other way."

"I'll need to see your access card," he said, stepping toward her. She took a step back.

"I-er-" She fingered her dart gun. "I really don't have time for this." She took aim and shot. The dart hit him in the neck and he dropped to the floor just as two more men came around the corner. Her scanner beeped again. Well, at least it worked. Aspen turned on her heels and ran. Gun shots fired after her and she ducked down another hallway. She needed to get out of here _now_. She sprinted down another hall. She was beginning to attract a lot of attention now. Two more men had joined the chase. She headed toward the side exit and burst out onto the sidewalk. She crossed the street, weaving between the moving cars. Several people honked at her, but she was already across the street, swallowed by the crowd of people. She took an alleyway, looking back to see if the four men were still after her. They stood across the street, looking around. Then one caught sight of her and pointed. Aspen cursed, running down the alley toward where she had parked her car. A bullet whizzed past her head, and she looked back to see that one of the men had nearly caught up to her. She ducked out onto the street and saw her car up ahead. She made a dash for it, diving into the driver's seat just as the man came out onto the street. She revved the engine and pulled away from the curb. He fired after her, but the bullets bounced harmlessly off. People screamed and ran away from the man. He stood in the street, watching her drive away.

Aspen took the craziest route home that she could manage. When she finally pulled onto her street, she was sure she wasn't being followed. It was just a matter of time before they tracked her down though. She cut the engine and ran up to her apartment, panting. At first she thought the apartment was empty, but then Loki strode out of the spare room, a towel in his hands. He took in her disheveled look.

"I take it that wasn't as easy as you thought it would be?" he said.

"Did you get the blood?" she asked.

"I wasn't sure how much you needed, so I got you this." He grabbed a large jar from the coffee table, holding it up. The blood was a sickly sort of purple.

"That's a lot of blood. I just needed a drop," she said.

He shrugged. "He had no further use of it," he said, setting the jar down.

Aspen grabbed an eyedropper from the kitchen and sat down on the loveseat, pulling out her tracker. She opened the jar and took a sample of the blood, inserting it into the tracker.

"So this…_instrument_ will tell you where the Chitauri are?" Loki asked, sitting next to her.

"Yes. It beeps when the same blood sample is close at hand. And I set it up so that I can do a reading on my computer." She opened the laptop and brought up the right program. "This is SHIELD headquarters." She looked sideways at him. "Forget I showed this to you." She pointed to all the orange and blue dots on the screen. "And that is how many people are either really Chitauri or are infected with the willpower subduing drug." There were a lot of dots. Most of them were orange, indicating that the people were under the influence of the drug. The blue dots were the Chitauri. She counted a dozen of these.

"Now we just have to come up with a plan to take them out. I assume the drug will wear off eventually."

"So you're planning on taking out twelve Chitauri and several dozen drugged drones."

Aspen sent him a glare. "I'm not taking out anyone in SHIELD. They're not thinking for themselves."

"Exactly. You think they'll hesitate before shooting you?"

"That's why I have darts," Aspen said. She pulled out one of her extra dart guns. "Here," she said, handing it to him.

"You're arming me?" he asked, lifting an eyebrow.

"I don't suppose you kept that Chitauri staff from last night."

"Perhaps."

"Good. You'll need it."


	15. Operation Chitauri

**13 – Operation Chitauri – January 1, 2012**

Clint was reclining in a booth at the back of the bar, wearing a pair of shades and looking far too casual to look casual. Natasha was sitting across from him, arms folded. Her red hair was neatly curled as usual despite the fact that they had just come back from a mission. Aspen slid into the booth as Clint made room for her. He took off his sunglasses. He looked a lot tanner than she had last seen him, a contrast to her ever-pale winter skin.

"Pen," he greeted her. "What happened to your face?" She'd forgotten about the bruise on her cheek.

"I'm fine. Just a little run in with the Chitauri."

"Do you have any idea how many agents have been compromised?" Natasha asked, getting straight to business.

"A couple dozen are under the Chitauri mind control. There are twelve Chitauri. I'm not sure who's who but if we get close enough, then we'll be able to tell."

"How do you know all that?" Clint asked, sounding impressed.

Aspen pulled out her scanner. "I've put a sample of blood from both the Chitauri and the infected agents into this. It beeps when one is close. I was able to upload the information onto my laptop. This is just a prototype, so I only have one, but…" She hesitated. "Well, I don't need it," she said. "At least for the Chitauri. For some reason I can see through their shape shifting."

Natasha and Clint stared at her. "Are you psychic?" Clint asked.

"No, I'm not," Aspen told him. "I'd know if I was. No, it's something else. Last night I was…taken by one of the Chitauri."

"_What_? You said you were knocked out," Clint said, the concern vivid in his grey eyes. He looked at her bruise, frowning.

"Well, I _was_ knocked out. Then it took me to this abandoned factory. It injected me with the same drug that was used on the agents to make them lose their willpower."

"_What_?" Clint looked furious.

"But somehow I'm immune," Aspen continued, ignoring his anger. "I'm not sure how. He was pretty shocked."

"Let's worry about that later," Clint said. "How did you escape?"

"I…you know, pulled a few tricks. I'm not completely helpless you know."

Clint looked as if he wanted to ask more questions, but Natasha spoke up. "What's the plan?" she asked.

"It's the three of us," Aspen said. "I don't know who else to trust. The scanner can tell you up close who is infected or a Chitauri in disguise, but I haven't perfected it further than that."

"It'll be enough for now," Clint said.

"When I went into SHIELD earlier to get the blood sample, it registered that there was a security breach in my lab. I hardly got away with my life." Clint's knuckles clenched on the table.

Natasha was looking thoughtful. "Well, no one knows that Clint and I are aware of the situation. We should have clearance."

"Did you manage to get ahold of Coulson?" Aspen asked Clint.

"I left a message. He was in the middle of a tricky compromise. He'll get back as soon as he can."

"Until then we need to hold our own. We have no idea how long these creatures have been in SHIELD. It had to have been a well-thought out plan. You don't just infiltrate SHIELD on a whim," Aspen said.

"One of us can let you in," Natasha said. "We need to take down the Chitauri and subdue the agents infected until the drug leaves their system. If we have the scanner, we should be able to spread the word to the uninfected agents. Do we have any idea of how they were infected?" she asked, frowning.

"It got into the bloodstream somehow." Aspen thought for a moment and then slapped her hand down on the table. Clint jumped a little. "I got a memo last week about this!" she said excitedly, pulling out her phone. She scrolled through her old e-mails. "Flu shots!" She waved the phone under Clint's nose triumphantly. "It's flu season and SHIELD was offering flu shots. No one _likes_ getting stabbed with needles. Only a fraction of the workers actually got it. I bet you anything this is how the drug got in their system. No one would question a flu shot."

"That's genius, Pen," Clint said, giving her a soft slap to her shoulder.

"So one of us can take the scanner," Natasha said, "and you can go with the other. We take SHIELD from both sides, working toward the Psi-Division. We spread the word. No more flu shots. Use dart guns on the compromised agents and kill the Chitauri."

"We might keep one for questioning," Clint suggested. "We could learn something valuable."

"Good idea."

"Are we all armed?" Clint asked.

"Do you even need to ask that?" Aspen asked. "My car is parked out front. We go together and split up when we get there." She had instructed Loki to give them an hour and then come with the Chitauri staff. She'd given him her ID card to use. He would draw the Chitauri to him when her card set the alarms off. No one would question him in the chaos that was about to happen. He was going to try his best to stay out of sight and meet her back at her apartment. Secrecy was important, she had drilled into him.

Aspen slid out of the booth, Clint and Natasha close behind her. They piled into her Audi, and she sped away toward SHIELD. She opted to park in the lot just in case they needed to make a fast escape. Hopefully it didn't come to that. Aspen pulled her black cap down low over her face. It had been decided that she'd go with Clint and Natasha would take the scanner. Aspen handed it over to her after showing her how it worked. Then she and Clint headed toward the side door. He pulled out his access card and scanned it. The scanner beeped its approval, and they slid in. Aspen kept close to Clint, keeping her eyes peeled for any Chitauri. They made their way through a few corridors without coming across anyone. At this hour most of the agents would be making their way home, but Aspen had a feeling anyone infected with the Chitauri drug would still be here.

They reached the Psi-Division without coming across anyone. Aspen was completely on edge at this point. She could sense Clint's tension as well. His jaw was tight and muscles tense. "Do you know that feeling when something you're about to walk into is a trap?" she asked.

"You're getting that vibe too?" he asked with a nervous laugh.

"I feel like we've been through this before. I just wonder what we're walking into."

"Getting any Chitauri vibes?" Clint asked her.

"Not yet," Aspen said. "But I'm new at this."

"Ready to go in shooting?"

"As ready as I'll ever be."

Clint opened the doors to the Psi-Division, and they entered. Aspen had her dart gun in one hand and a semi-automatic in the other. Clint had his bow, and his quiver was teeming with his specialized arrows. Aspen had not been expecting the scene before them though. The entire room was filled with people. It seemed as if the number of infected people had doubled since Aspen had last checked. They were all standing as if waiting for them.

"Uh, Clint, I think we have a problem," she said.

"I've seen worse odds," he said. She'd heard that before.

She did a quick headcount. "Really? It's two against thirty-five. And we have to take out the SHIELD agents without killing them."

"Can't we just lock them in here?" He looked back at the door. "Are there any Chitauri in here?" Before Aspen had the chance to scan the room further, a voice spoke to them from the back of the room.

"I wouldn't try that." The people parted and a Chitauri walked forward. Aspen could tell by Clint's reaction that he could see its true form. Clearly it didn't care about disguises anymore. As if to prove his point, two more Chitauri came in behind them, blocking the doors.

"I guess we don't need my new secret power after all," Aspen said, trying to lighten the mood.

"You think you can stop us, but that is just an example of human failing," the Chitauri told them. "Humans cannot think for themselves. The results are chaotic. As you can see humans need someone to tell them how to behave."

"People don't like a dictator," Aspen told him. "I think you'll find a whole lot of resistance from those you haven't drugged. These people are only following you because you've made them. As soon that drug wears off, you're gonna have a lot of pissed agents on your hands."

"Not if they don't wake up. You'll be joining them soon."

"Oh, didn't you know? I can't be infected," Aspen said. "Doesn't work on me."

"Then you're no good to us alive." The Chitauri drew a staff forward, aiming it at Aspen. Clint pushed her behind him.

"We're not going down without a fight," he said, notching an arrow.

The Chitauri struck out with his staff. Clint ducked down while firing the arrow. The blue blaze from the staff seared the door. Clint's arrow struck the Chitauri in the heart. Aspen dove under a table and started firing at the Chitauri. She spared a few darts for the agents, targeting six of them and pulling the trigger. Six darts sped out across the room and six agents fell to the ground. She rolled out from under the desk as another Chitauri sent a blue energy at her. It left a black scorch mark on the floor. She rolled to her feet and fired another round of shots. Two Chitauri fell. She aimed her darts, but the agents were in motion now. She ducked down to avoid a bullet and shot. Six more agents fell. Something slammed into the side of her face, and she fell hard. She tried to roll, but a chair got in her way. A hand grabbed her by the throat and lifted her up. She struggled against him, dropping both her guns. She reached for a knife but before she could grasp it, the Chitauri holding her loosened its grip, an arrow sticking out of its back. Aspen kicked it aside and grabbed her guns, throwing a nod to Clint. He had downed quite a few Chitauri now, but with the SHIELD agents attacking too, the situation got difficult. Aspen fired another few rounds of darts, but they were still out numbered. Clint was doing his best to knock out the SHIELD agents, but fighting in such tight quarters was proving difficult even for his skill level. Aspen felt overwhelmed with Chitauri and SHIELD agents alike coming at her from all directions.

Suddenly the doors burst open and Natasha barged in, guns blazing. She caught two Chitauri in the back of the head. Behind her marched Fury and Coulson and a dozen other agents.

"You got my message," Clint threw at Coulson.

"Got here as soon as I could," he replied.

The battle had begun to escalate with the new help. The lab was all but destroyed, lights flickering up above them, test tubes and computers smashed. Aspen saw a couple of Chitauri slip out the door. She chased after them with gun in hand. She aimed at one of their heads and shot. The chamber clicked. Empty. Aspen swore, pulling out a knife. She positioned it in her hand, but they had disappeared down the stairs leading down to the artifact storage basement. Aspen flung herself down the stairs after them. Somewhere below above her an alarm blared out. She couldn't get a clear shot. She reached the bottom of the stairs and caught the door as it swung shut. She found an abandoned ID card on the floor. The Chitauri must have stolen it from an agent they were controlling.

She couldn't hear anyone running. The tall shelves made it impossible to see very far. She walked slowly down the corridor that ran past the shelves, knife in hand. Her boots were silent on the floor. Something clattered ahead of her. She picked up her pace, rounding a corner slowly. She saw the receding form of the Chitauri. She slipped after them, silent on her feet. She heard a door clang and sprinted out. They had left the building. She ran after them, coming to a halt on the concrete steps outside the building. Night had long ago fallen and the cold winter air chilled her to the bone. She slipped into the shadows, following the sounds of the Chitauri around the side of the building. She stopped when she heard them speaking to someone.

"…has spoken of you," one of the Chitauri said.

"Has he now?" this voice was smooth and accented. Aspen's heart froze. She would recognize that voice anywhere. "Well you can tell him that this plan of his is not going to work. Look around you. This isn't the way."

"And I suppose you think you know better?" the Chitauri said, his voice more of a growl.

"Please, I'm a god. Of course I know better." Loki's tone was harsh. "This isn't the way you get humans to follow you. They're easy to manipulate, but you have to give them some reason to trust you."

Aspen had heard enough. She drew her second knife and rounded the corner, remembering Clint's knife-throwing lessons she sighted her targets and threw the knives. Both Chitauri fell to the ground, knives embedded in their backs. Loki looked down at the dead Chitauri and then up at Aspen. She drew her third knife.

"You're working for them?" she asked. She hated that she couldn't keep the hurt from her voice. "All this time I trusted you, and you're working for them."

"It's called trying to get information," Loki said. His eyes gleamed cold in the winter moonlight. "I'm not working for them. I don't work _for_ anyone."

"That's right. You're a _god_. You don't follow, you just sit on your throne. Or try to."

"These creatures think they can lead the humans, but they're not leaders. They're soldiers."

"Your soldiers?"

"You think I sent them? Up until I fell to Earth, I was wandering around the universe, lost, alone. I didn't come in contact with anyone."

"I don't know if I should believe you or not," Aspen said. "I don't understand what your motives are."

"Why do I need motives? Do you think I asked to be dropped here?" He held up his cuffed arm. "I can't use my powers. I have no purpose here. Quit trying to turn me into the villain. I don't blindly follow anyone," he said. "Why would I join them?"

"I don't know."

"Why did you start working here?" he asked her.

Aspen started at his question. "It was a second chance," she said.

"And you follow their orders?" he asked.

"Yes. It's my duty. Why does this matter?" she asked.

"You speak about humans not following blindly, but that's exactly what you do every day. It's been drilled into your head that you can't trust anyone. Everyone is the enemy in your eyes. Your suspicion blinds you. You pretend you have freewill, but it's already been taken from you," he told her.

She opened her mouth to protest. "That's not true."

"Then why can't you trust me?" he asked her.

"I don't know what to believe."

Loki took a step toward her. "Believe that I mean you no harm," he said. She lowered her knife after a moment, meeting his eyes.

"I do believe that," she said.

It was then that the side of the building rocked with an explosion, bricks spraying out. One narrowly missed Aspen. She fell to the ground. A brick hit her leg and she cried out in pain. She looked up. Loki was nowhere in sight. Aspen got shakily to her feet, stumbling into the hole and back into the building. Someone had thrown a grenade at the wall of the storage area. Chitauri were pouring into the room. She couldn't understand what they were shouting, but it looked as if they were trying to retreat. Aspen knew that if she didn't stop them now, they'd only try again in the future. She reached down to assess her weapons. She had one knife and her dart gun. She supposed unconscious Chitauri were better than escaping Chitauri. She targeted six and pulled the trigger. The darts hit their necks, and the Chitauri turned their attention to her.

"Oh." They pulled the darts from their necks and screeched at her. Clearly the drug used in the darts didn't work on them. Now they were angry. She tucked the dart gun back in her belt. She had one tiny knife now and was up against ten Chitauri. She had no idea where they had all come from. They seemed to have multiplied since the last time she'd checked her scanner. She gripped her knife. The odds were against her even with the training Clint had been giving her. Before she had the chance to prepare herself, the first Chitauri came at her. She dodged to the side, barely managing to escape its staff. It turned quickly, undeterred, and stabbed sharp point of the staff at her. Aspen feinted, managing to grab the handle of the staff and bring the wood up to smash the Chitauri in the face. She slashed up with her knife and slit its throat. For a moment she was back on the ship and Danners was dying before her, but this was different. Right?

She realized it didn't matter how killing these creatures affected her because she was fighting for her life, and they would not hesitate to kill her. She leapt out of the way another of the Chitauri drove its staff at her. She ducked as the staff came swinging at her head. Another Chitauri was right behind the first, and she kicked out her legs, bringing it down. Another swift kick to the head ensured that it was unconscious. She grabbed its staff just in time to block the blow from another of the creatures. She heaved forward, pushing it into one of the shelves. It was a mad struggle as she tried to keep it pinned to the shelf. It was clearly stronger though and pushed her aside. She fell to the floor, scrambling backwards until her back hit the shelves. Eight Chitauri strode toward her.

There was no way out of this, she realized. She was going to die on this cold, hard floor, alone. She shut her eyes as the Chitauri lifted its staff over her head.

The pain never came though. Instead she heard a gurgling noise and the Chitauri slumped to the floor, a knife embedded in its neck. Aspen looked up to see a figure attacking the remaining Chitauri with a vengeance. It was Loki. Powers or no powers, he could fight. Watching him take down the Chitauri was like watching a dance. He was using a Chitauri staff like a sword, and the creatures were falling at his feet, unable to stand against him. He left the staff in one of the Chitauri's chests and pulled out a second knife. Aspen realized he must have recovered them from the Chitauri bodies outside. His hands were deft with the knife and fought the remaining Chitauri with ease.

Suddenly something grabbed Aspen, and she looked into the horrid face of one of the creatures. She hadn't realized he'd slipped up behind her, she'd been so focused on Loki's fighting, but now it pressed its staff against her neck until she was struggling to breathe.

"This is what happens when you fight for your freedom," it told her. "Death." Aspen struggled, but the Chitauri pressed the staff harder against her neck. "Goodbye little human." It lifted the staff, ready to strike. Aspen cringed, but then them something blue flashed and the Chitauri fell, dead, to the floor before Aspen's feet. Aspen looked up and saw Loki standing there, staff in hand.

"I thought you'd left," Aspen choked out. "Where did you go after the explosion?"

"I never left," he told her. "I went to see if any Chitauri were escaping."

"You saved my life."

"That's three you owe me. One of these days I might have to collect." She couldn't tell if he was joking or not.

Voices interrupted Aspen's next words. She turned to see a number of agents spilling into the storage area, Clint, Natasha, Fury, and Coulson among them. Aspen turned back to tell Loki to leave before they saw him, but he was already gone. She stared at the gaping hole in the wall until Clint called out to her.

"Pen, are you alright?" he asked, hurrying over to her. He grabbed her shoulders and looked her over.

"I'm fine, Clint," she said, trying to escape his grip.

"Did you take down all these Chitauri?" Natasha asked, walking up.

"I didn't really have a choice," Aspen lied. Natasha looked impressed, and Aspen felt a surge of guilt. Clint was still grasping her shoulders as if she'd collapse if he let go. "I'm fine, Clint, really," she said. She reached up and touched his cheek. A long scratch ran down it. "How about you?"

"I'll live," he said gruffly, finally releasing his grip on her.

"We've got the situation cleared upstairs," Coulson told her coming up. "The agents who were drugged are now in recovery. No casualties thanks to you three. How did you know they were here?"

"That's something I'd like to know too," Fury said, coming up.

"That was all Aspen," Clint said, a hint of pride in his voice.

Aspen colored a little, embarrassed by the attention. "I seem to somehow be able to see past the Chitauri's shape shifting abilities," she explained for the umpteenth time. She explained how she had first discovered them and how she had detected the white parasite in the Psi-Division's blood sample. "They were probably in there for awhile. They developed the drug and put it into the flu shots. That way they could slowly overtake the agents. Even if not everyone got the shot, they'd still have a substantial amount of agents obeying them." She explained her plan and how she had contacted Clint and Natasha. "I'm sorry I didn't come to you, sir," she said, turning to Fury. "I didn't know who had been compromised. The Chitauri seem to be able to take any form."

"You made the right call, Tolvar," Fury said, a note of approval in his voice.

"Thank you, sir."

"Very impressive," Coulson told her. He turned to the other agents who had come down. "We need to get this cleaned up and get someone to repair that wall," he said.

"We managed to capture a few of the Chitauri," Fury told them. "I'll be personally interrogating them first thing tomorrow. I think now is a good time to get some rest."

Aspen couldn't agree more. She was thoroughly exhausted. Clint patted her shoulder and Natasha gave her a quick smile before the two of them headed off. Aspen headed to the locker room and took a quick shower, unable to stand the stench of Chitauri blood on her any longer. She changed into a fresh outfit and headed out to her Audi. She drove home in a cloud of thought. Her apartment was dark when she walked in. She switched on one of the light switches and nearly jumped out of her skin. Loki was sitting at the table in the dining area off of the living room.

"I didn't know if I'd be seeing you again," Aspen said, dropping her belt down on the couch.

"I had nowhere else to go," he said softly, looking up at her. His eyes flashed when he saw her. He was on his feet and across the room before she could blink. She took a step back. His hand reached out and softly touched her neck. "That must hurt," he said, indicating the bruising that had started to form where the Chitauri had pressed his staff against her throat.

"Yeah, I'm a little beat up," Aspen said. "I'll live though." She noted that he bore no injuries.

"How did you get that scar?" Loki's finger traced the scar that ran from her right eye down to her jaw. She shivered under his touch. His hand was ice cold.

"It's a battle scar," she said. "From my past." She turned away. Loki's fingers fell away from her face, but he held his hand up slightly as if he didn't quite know what to do with it.

"We all carry scars whether you can see them or not," he said softly. She turned to look at him. He had changed back into his usual clothes, but tonight he didn't look so alien to her. She felt herself pulled to him like a magnet, wanting to know more, but fearing he wouldn't answer.

"And what scars do you have?" she asked anyway.

"Ones that run so deep they can never heal," he said darkly, eyes meeting hers unblinkingly.

"Every wound can heal with time if you let it," Aspen said. "Maybe you don't think you deserve to heal. That isn't true though."

Loki laughed softly. "I think you overestimate the good in me," he said.

"Or maybe I see the good in you."

His gaze was intent, and she felt herself growing warm under it. "Perhaps it's you who brings out the good in me," he said, his gaze still set on hers.

Aspen felt a little breathless, and she didn't think it had to do with the fact that she had just survived an alien attack on SHIELD. She swallowed hard, fumbling to think of something more to say. Loki had other ideas though. He moved in to eliminate the space between them, hands rising up to cup her face. Aspen's green eyes widened. She parted her lips to ask him what he was doing, but then his lips were pressed against hers, desperate and somehow warm despite the chill of his skin. Aspen's first instinct was to push him away, to slap him, to turn him out in the cold, but then she was kissing him back without having consciously made the decision to do so. She put a hand against his heart, feeling it beat evenly. Her back bumped the wall, and he was pressed even closer. His hands ran down her neck so that they rested on her shoulders, careful not to touch her bruises. Her skin tingled under his touch, and she grasped the collar of his cloak in the hand that wasn't rested against his heart. They broke apart for air, and her breathing was ragged. Their eyes met, and Aspen felt her heart beating haphazardly at his gaze. Then his lips were on hers again, and the kiss deepened. Aspen knew she should pull away before things got out of control, but somehow her brain was overriding all common sense.

When they pulled apart again, she willed herself to stop before this went too far. It already _had_ gone too far. "What are we doing?" she asked. She loosened her grip on his cloak.

"I thought that was obvious," he replied calmly. Where she was flushed and out of breath, he looked unfazed.

She laughed a little breathlessly. "I mean _why_?" She looked up at him. "I'm just a human. I don't mean anything to you."

"You're an exception to the rule," he told her.

"We don't even trust each other. We're like two chemicals that don't mix and are likely to explode." She kicked herself for turning them into a scientific metaphor.

"Isn't that part of the thrill?" he asked, breath tickling her neck.

"No, it's not. It's bad." She was having trouble thinking with him pushing her up against the wall, his hand on her waist. She pulled away from him. She needed to clear her head. She was _not_ thinking clearly. If she was, she wouldn't have let him kiss her in the first place. He turned to survey her.

"Perhaps now would be a good time for us to get some rest. Tomorrow we'll be thinking more clearly," he suggested.

"I think that's a good idea," Aspen said. She skirted around him toward her room. He watched her go, eyes still glowing.

When Aspen was safely in her room, she sunk down on her bed wondering not for the first or last time what she was doing.


	16. A Game of Lies

**14 – A Game of Lies – January 2, 2012**

When Aspen woke up the next morning, the night before washed over her like a bad hangover. What had she been _thinking_? She had been thinking about those ice blue eyes and that dangerous glint that always resided so close to the surface. She'd been thinking about the thrill of being around him, not fully trusting him but yet still trusting him with her life. She felt a trill at the thought of him kissing her. There was something about having a demi-god from Norse legends kiss her that made her feel just a little awesome. What didn't feel awesome was the thought of facing him this morning. She dressed quickly, taking longer than usual in front of the mirror. When she caught herself messing with her red curls, she mentally slapped herself and left the bathroom before she made a fool of herself.

She took a deep breath before opening her bedroom door and walking out into the living room. Loki was sitting on the loveseat and looked up at her when she entered the room. Aspen felt heat creeping into her cheeks and cursed her tendency to blush. She cleared her throat as the awkward silence between them stretched on.

"Humans just love awkward tension, don't they?" Loki asked.

Aspen sent him a glare, and he chuckled. She huffed and sat next to him. Their shoulders brushed, and she noticed he wasn't wearing his cloak or armor, just a simple tunic. "Whatever it is that's between us," Aspen started. "I'm not sure it should continue."

"Last night," he paused. "Last night was unexpected. I've spent the last week more confused than I've ever been before. I can only imagine how lost I would be if you hadn't found me. I'm sorry for implying that you had no freewill. You chose to take me in. You kept me from the people you work for to protect me."

"No, you were right. I proved last night that I _will_ mindlessly kill for my job. It shouldn't have been different from killing a human, but somehow it was." She met his eyes. "That probably makes me a monster."

"If anyone's a monster, it's me. I've done more than my fair share of killing. And for what? Peace?"

"We all make mistakes," Aspen said. Her brain was whirling. She was about to do something that would either prove a good thing or blow up in her face. She took his wrist in her hand, pressing a fingertip against the sensor on the cuff. Loki watched her, and she could hear the sharp intake of breath when the cuff unlatched. She pulled it free from his wrist and set it on the table. "I have no reason to use this on you anymore," she told him. "You've never hurt me. I trust that you won't hurt me."

She felt him watching her and half expected him to get up and leave, but then she felt his fingers intertwine with hers. She looked at him sharply. "Last night wasn't a mistake," he said, eyes intent on hers.

Aspen knew she should pull away, but instead she leaned forward and pressed her lips to his. She just had to know. Now that the cuff was gone, now that he was staying with her of his own freewill… His hand tightened around hers and his other hand went to her waist. He kissed her back, but this time it was less desperate than the night before. She let herself give into the feelings that were creeping into her heart without her permission.

The ringing of her phone startled them apart. Aspen grabbed for it, feeling flustered. It was Clint. "Hey," she said, standing up and walking a few steps away from the loveseat.

"Hey, we got something interesting out of one of our alien friends. Turns out they aren't the only visitors here. They said something about a portal opening, about someone else coming through."

"Like a black hole?" she asked softly, thinking about the portal Loki had come through.

"I guess. I'm not sure. Coulson said he picked up something unusual around Central Park. A week or so ago some kid recorded this odd weather occurrence and uploaded it on YouTube. The Chitauri seemed to think we had a good reason to be scared."

"Did they say anything else?"

"Just that they'd found their prince, whatever that means. They made it sound as if their infiltration had been preparation for his arrival. Even though things didn't go their way, they didn't seem too worried. Just ranted on about us bowing down and obeying them once this guy gets here."

Aspen's blood ran cold at his words. She was beginning to piece things together, and she didn't like the picture they were forming. "Alright," she said. "Keep me updated."

"Are you coming in today?"

"Yeah. I'll be in soon." She hung up, composing herself before turning back to Loki. "I need to go into work today," she said. "There's a lot of clean up that needs to get done. Will you be alright here?"

He nodded, eyes watching her. A moment ago she had found them entrancing. Now she found them cold. "We'll continue our conversation when you get back."

"I look forward to it." She forced a smile before grabbing her coat and heading out. She pulled her car around the block and parked before rounding back to her apartment on foot. She positioned herself out of sight of the doorway and waited, texting Clint that something had come up, but she'd be in later.

It was only ten minutes later when Loki came out of the apartment building and started striding east. Aspen allowed herself a moment of weakness. She had been hoping more than ever that he was going to stay put, that her fears were unfounded, but he was walking with purpose, and she had a pretty good idea of where he was going. She waited until he was some distance ahead and then started following him.

…

Tracking him was fairly easy. Aspen had spent a lot of time tracking during her years at ARTIFACT. It required skills at stealth and acting casual. It was instinctual to want to dart around a corner or duck behind a car if someone you were following looked over his shoulder. Doing something like this just drew attention to yourself though. Aspen had donned sunglasses and her black cap. She strode after him with purposeful strides but kept back a ways. He looked back once and looked straight through her. She kept her face placid, showing no signs of recognition, trusting in her disguise to keep him from recognizing her. He turned back after a quick scan and kept going. It was clear where he was going after a few blocks. The abandoned factory she had been taken to was several blocks further. He was returning to the place where the Chitauri had taken her. Aspen was getting a bad feeling about this. She hoped that her suspicions were unfounded, but somehow she didn't think they were. Why would Loki come back here as soon as she took the cuff off? As she rounded the corner, she saw him disappearing into a rusted door in the side of the factory. She jogged across the rubble-strewn parking lot and knelt beneath a broken window. She peered over the ledge, keeping still. She spotted Loki standing in the middle of the room. He had donned his cloak again and held a Chitauri staff in his right hand. Two Chitauri stood before him.

"You came," one of the Chitauri said. "Our master wants to meet you, but we weren't sure you would come."

"Your master's proposition sounds interesting," Loki said. "If you have the means to a portal, I want off of this human planet."

"We are the only ones left of our kind that were not captured or killed in the battle," the second Chitauri said. "This wasn't the way this was supposed to go. Our master is displeased."

"It wasn't my plan," Loki told them. "I told your companions that it would fail."

"The portal will be open for a short time, so we must leave as soon as it opens. If you're done _playing_ with that human girl."

Aspen felt her blood boil at the Chitauri's words. So it had all been a lie. Everything. She had been played a fool. But she was here now. She had the chance to turn this in her favor.

"It was never my plan to be imprisoned by a human," Loki said, the bitterness clear in his voice. "I won't make that mistake again. SHIELD is not to be underestimated. My brother has declared himself their ally. If he should learn of the plan, then I fear the consequences."

"Next time the humans will suffer more casualties," the Chitauri growled. "Like when you sent that destroyer after your brother." It cackled. "We heard about that, Loki Laufeyson."

Aspen caught her breath. The destroyer… She had read about it in the file on Puente Antiguo. It had caused a lot of damage and had taken several lives including some SHIELD agents. And now the Chitauri was saying that Loki had sent it? She realized now that that was the reason his name had sounded familiar to her. Not Norse mythology but that file.

"He will open the portal in a moment. We must hurry. It will not last long. If you wish to join us, then you must leave Earth now." The Chitauri turned to its companion and began to speak to it in a guttural language Aspen couldn't understand. She pulled out her dart gun and aimed it into the crack in the window. She targeted Loki. She was about to press the trigger when a voice whispered next to her ear.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you."

The Loki standing inside of the factory disappeared. She turned to find him standing behind her. His eyes gleamed, and she could see him for what he really was in that moment. The god of mischief.

"I see that I wasn't careful enough," he told her. "I should have known you'd follow me. You're much cleverer than the average human. But then again, you still fall for the same tricks. In the end you're just like the rest of them."

"So the last few weeks. Last night. That was all just lies?" Aspen hated that she couldn't keep the tone of betrayal from her voice. Something flitted across Loki's gaze, but then his eyes hardened, cold as ice.

"Is it my fault you fell for them? I didn't make you take that cuff off of me. You did that on your own after you'd let your guard down low enough to trust me."

Aspen felt something break inside. She reached out a hand and slapped him – hard. "When I said I trusted you not to hurt me, I was wrong," she said. "How long have you been planning this?"

"This wasn't my plan. I never had any intention of coming to Earth. I only spoke to the Chitauri the night of the attack."

"Liar."

"That _is_ the truth. When I learned of the Chitauri's plan, I couldn't miss seeing how well that went."

"So how does that work? You kill a few of their kind, but they're still buddy-buddy with you at the end of the day?"

"The casualties were necessary to keep up the act."

"Yes, that's all everything is to you, isn't it? An act. Was anything real? What you said about your family? About your mother? Why did you save my life? Wouldn't it have been easier to have let me die?"

"I had no quarrel with you."

"No, just the desire to play with me the way a cat plays with its prey."

"I can't help it. It's in my nature."

"I see that now." Aspen shook her head. "Now there's nothing stopping me from calling in SHIELD. I don't care if they lock you up. I don't care if they interrogate you until you lose your sanity. You're a threat, and I'm calling it in."

"No you won't," Loki told her. He grasped her wrist as she reached for her phone. "Imagine the distrust that will stem from this. You will lose the respect your superiors had for you. You were a hero last night taking on all those Chitauri 'alone.' Now what are you? A traitor at best." Aspen clenched her fist.

"Let go of me."

"I haven't got all day to argue with you," he told her. "Call it in if you like, but I'll be gone before your agents get here." He let go of her wrist and turned to go back into the factory. Aspen couldn't stop the fury building up within her. With a cry, she drew her knife and threw herself at him. She hit him as he turned to face her, and it was like hitting a solid wall. He didn't even stumble. Instead he caught her wrist as she brought her knife up toward his neck. He threw her back, and she slammed into the ground. Pieces of gravel dug into her back, and she grimaced in pain. Then she was back on her feet, ready for another attack. It never occurred to her that she was fighting a god with super strength or that he could take her down in an instant. She let out her rage, attacking ruthlessly. She managed to draw blood on his cheek, but then he grabbed her wrist and squeezed it until she dropped the knife with a cry. She kicked out, hitting his leg. He grunted, but didn't loosen his grip.

"You really think you stand a chance of beating me?" he asked, looking down at her in amusement.

"Kill her and hurry." The Chitauri had come up to the broken window to watch the struggle. Aspen took advantage of the distraction and bit down on Loki's wrist. He yelped and let go of her wrist. She took a few paces back. Then Loki vanished. She whirled around, but he had appeared behind her and caught her in his grip. This time she couldn't struggle loose. "The portal is opening," one of the Chitauri called out. Loki looked conflicted for a moment. Aspen stopped trying to struggle. It wasn't working anyway.

"What am I going to do with you?" Loki asked softly.

"You might as well kill me."

"Maybe I will." Her knife was in his hand, and he held it against her throat.

There was a terrific ripping noise behind them, and Aspen looked over her shoulder to see a gaping black hole in the middle of the room. It hung suspended, similar to the one Loki had fallen through. The Chitauri scrambled toward it, looking back at Loki.

"You'll miss it," one hissed at him. "Just kill her!"

Aspen looked up at Loki, preparing herself. She'd faced death so many times in the last few weeks. Somehow she didn't feel so frightened. Loki didn't strike her though. Instead he looked at her with an emotion she couldn't read. "Farewell Aspen," he said. "I didn't lie to you from the start if that means anything to you. Not about everything."

"You could have just been honest," she told him. "Instead of playing with my emotions."

"Now where's the fun in that?" He let go of her. "Anyway, you're stronger than that. You'll forget I ever existed." He strode toward the portal. She watched him go, hands weak at her sides. He looked back at her once before entering the portal behind the Chitauri. There was a spasm of energy and the portal disappeared. Aspen stood for a long while. Her phone startled her when it started to buzz. She pulled it out of her pocket.

"Pen, what happened?" Clint asked as soon as she answered. "You never came in. I was worried."

"Clint, you know when you do something that you later regret?"

"Yeah…"

"I think I might have done something like that."

"Where are you? I'm picking you up."

Aspen gave him the address and hung up, standing where she was until she saw his familiar black SHIELD sedan. He pulled up alongside her and got out. "What are you doing here?" he asked.

"Is there somewhere we can talk?" Aspen asked.

"Of course." He put a hand on her shoulder and guided her to his car. "I know just the place." They ended up in a quiet little park in a neighborhood Aspen had never been to before. "I found this place when I was just driving around one day. It's so removed, I come here to think sometimes."

They walked over to a bench and sat down. "Why don't you start from the beginning?" Clint suggested.

"Promise you won't judge me?" she asked, peering at him.

"Promise." He gave her shoulder a squeeze and then gave her his full attention while she started from the beginning. It was hard to believe that any of this had happened. Loki had left just moments ago, and now it seemed like he had never been there to start with. What she was feeling inside told her otherwise.

She told him everything (well, everything except the night before), feeling more and more ashamed that she hadn't told SHIELD before that. "I made a huge mistake in not turning him in. I just…I don't know. I thought that I could get more out of him than SHIELD. Then I felt sorry for him. It ended up blowing up in my face."

Clint sighed. "I won't argue that it was a mistake, but I'm not judging you. You had to make your own call. Maybe you did get more out of him than SHIELD might have. But you said he wasn't behind the infiltration?"

"No. I think he was telling the truth about that."

"So he was the 'other' the Chitauri told us about. He fell through that portal that got caught on film."

"Yes."

"You're going to have to tell Fury, you know," Clint told her.

She looked up at him sharply. "No. Oh, no. I am _not_ telling Fury. He will kill me. He will skin me alive and then bring me back from the dead and kill me again."

"If you don't tell him and he finds out, it will be way worse."

"You're not going to tell him, are you?"

"No, I'm leaving that to you. It _is_ a matter of safety. You said the Chitauri might have another plan of attack?"

"I'm not sure. The Chitauri spoke of their master having a plan and wanting to meet Loki. I don't know what it was or if Loki was even going to help. He might have just wanted a way home."

"Fury's not going to kill you. He's going to be mad though. _Really_ mad."

"That's not helping, Clint." She put her face in her hands.

"Hey, it's going to be alright, kid. No damage done. If he wasn't involved with the Chitauri infiltration that is."

"They had to have been planning this for awhile. He said he hadn't even meant to come to Earth. I'm thinking the portals are a bit…unpredictable."

"You gonna take his word on that?"

"I won't ever take anyone's word on anything again. Except yours." She leaned her head on his shoulder, shutting her eyes. "When should I talk to him?"

"How about this afternoon?" Clint suggested, putting an arm around her.

"Then can I crawl into a dark hole and never come out?"

"Sure. I'll bring over some Ben and Jerry's."

"Will you really?" she tilted her head to look up at him. His grey eyes sparkled.

"What else are friends for? We can watch Netflix and commiserate over all the mistakes we've made in life. I have a feeling some of mine are worse."

"Did you ever have to make a confession to Fury?" she asked.

"Well, no. Not for something this serious anyway."

"Thanks. That makes me feel so much better."

…

Clint was true to his word. He was at her apartment at five sharp with two containers of Ben and Jerry's. "How bad was it?" he asked, kicking the door shut behind him. He sat down next to where she was curled in a ball on the end of the loveseat, setting the ice cream on the coffee table.

"My grandchildren will be quaking for years to come," she said. "I'm on leave for the unforeseeable future. Coulson looked so disappointed that I probably could have shot a puppy and he would have had the same expression on his face."

"Well, I brought you cookie dough and double brownie chocolate chunk just in case it's a two-tub night."

"Well it doesn't matter if I gain twenty pounds. Fury won't ever let me be an agent after this."

Clint smiled, getting up to retrieve two spoons from her kitchen. He handed her one. "Sure he will. You're only a level one anyway."

"Gee thanks." She snatched the cookie dough and pried the lid off. Clint went for the brownie one.

"Well, what's it to be? Should we finish watching season one of _Star Trek_ or are you going to force me to watch chick flicks all night?"

"Both?"

"_Star Trek_ it is." Clint snatched the TV remote and picked the episode. It reminded Aspen a little too much of the Chitauri and the ended up watching_ The Vampire Diaries_ for four hours. Clint groaned at her choice, but she noticed that he stopped objecting after the first three episodes. Aspen ate far too much of the cookie dough and silently traded it off to Clint who handed her the brownie one.

She started nodding off sometime after ten, and Clint took the ice cream to her freezer. "You gonna be okay if I head out?" he asked.

She nodded. "Thank you." She reached out a hand and he took it, giving it a squeeze. "You're the best big brother I could have asked for."

He grinned at her. "Glad I could be of service. Maybe I should start renting myself out."

"You hate people too much for that."

"You just want me to yourself." He leaned forward and kissed her on the head. "Don't wallow too much. You'll be back before you know it. Fury will forget about this."

"No he won't."

"Okay, he won't, but he'll forgive you."

"Thanks for the ice cream."

"Anytime."

"We'll finish the show next time."

Clint grimaced before leaving her apartment. Aspen finally dragged herself to bed, curling up and trying to forget the reason her heart was aching so much.


	17. Aftermath

**15 – Aftermath – January 14, 2012**

Returning to school was a relief. She had no idea what to do with herself when she didn't have SHIELD to go to. She was starting to recover from the previous week's events but she couldn't deny how broken her heart felt. She thought she was wiser, but she had gone and let someone break her heart. That she had some genuine feelings for Loki made her hate herself even more, but she missed his sarcastic and spiteful remarks and his surprisingly insightful comments. Her apartment felt empty. She caught herself staring at the silver cuff frequently. She had placed it on her fireplace mantle though she wasn't sure why. Clint hadn't mentioned it when he had been over, but she'd seen him looking at it. Had he felt anything or had it all been a lie? No, she couldn't do this to herself. She grabbed the cuff and threw it into the bottom drawer of her desk. She needed to get her life together and forget a certain dark-haired trickster who had lied his way into her heart. She supposed it was typical of girls who hadn't known much love in their lives, but why did she have to be so weak? Why did she have to fall for his act?

Aspen grabbed her Advanced Astrophysics textbook and poured herself into the reading Professor Stew had assigned them. She'd taken a sample of her blood to the chemistry lab one afternoon and had run tests on it to see if she could explain her immunity to the Chitauri drug. She drew a blank. Nothing seemed different about her blood. She'd called her Aunt Vi to see if she could shed any light on the situation, but her aunt had been tightlipped on the subject. No change there.

She sighed. In the months she had known that her parents were still alive, she had learned close to nothing about them or their work. She'd read the file SHIELD had on them, but it told her nothing new. Clint had been called in for a new mission and Jemma was busy at work, so Aspen's source of companionship had disappeared. She'd actually found herself walking past the pet shop on Broadway several times in the last week and on Friday she'd gotten the under-layers of her red hair dyed honey blonde. She'd stopped herself before doing something more dramatic like getting a tattoo, but she'd definitely become a connoisseur of Ben and Jerry's.

It was going to be a long few months or however long it was Fury was intent on keeping her on leave. At least she hadn't been fired. She would never forget the look of anger on his face when she had disclosed that she'd been keeping someone from another universe in her apartment for a week without informing SHIELD. It didn't matter that she had used the cuff on him, he was still dangerous, and it was protocol to call in things like that. She'd be lucky to ever be assigned something again.

…

It was mid-March when she was finally called in to analyze some objects that had been recovered. One object sitting on her desk was one of the Chitauri's staffs. It still glowed with that familiar blue energy. Aspen grabbed it, determined to figure out if it was the same blue energy from the Hydra weapons. She placed it in the scanner and waited as the computer took a reading on it. When the results flashed up on the screen, she let out a triumphant 'ah ha!' Low levels of gamma-radiation. It was the same energy. Now where did it come from? A thought was beginning to clarify itself in her head. She couldn't get a clear reading on what exactly the blue energy was because it wasn't something found on Earth. The scanner had nothing to compare it to. The Chitauri weren't from this universe. Somehow Hydra had got its hands on something extraterrestrial. That was the source of their weapon's power. She decided to send Fury a memo, not quite willing to face him just yet. She paged Charlie to ask him to deliver the memo. When he entered her lab, his usual cheery smile was gone.

"Hey, Charlie. Long time no see," Aspen said cheerily. "Can you deliver this note to Director Fury?"

"You sure he can trust any of your research?" Charlie asked.

"Excuse me?" Aspen's smile faltered.

"I just thought after that stunt you pulled where SHIELD ended up under attack he might take anything you have to say with a grain of salt."

"I didn't mean for anyone to get hurt. In fact, I'm the one who discovered the Chitauri infiltration."

"Yeah, because you were shacking up with some guy from a different universe who happened to be behind all this."

"I wasn't 'shacking up' with him and he wasn't behind this. He helped me fight."

Charlie took the memo from her. "Whatever. I just don't think you should still have a job after that."

"I'm sorry you feel that way," Aspen said coldly. "Next time I discover that SHIELD has been infiltrated, I'll just leave it to the 'real' agents. I don't recall seeing _you_ fighting."

Charlie's ears reddened. "I was already at home," he said. "I'm done at five."

"Whatever."

Charlie glared at her before leaving her lab, slamming the door after him. Aspen let out a breath. She had not been expecting that. She wondered if everyone knew about her mistake. She didn't think that Fury would have spread the word, but somehow it had gotten out. Trying to distract herself, she logged onto the SHIELD database and typed in Hydra. It gave her the basics, things she already knew from her trip to the museum and Clint. She clicked on the file for weapons. A message popped up on her screen: Access Denied, Level Seven Clearance needed. She cursed. How was she supposed to research this when she wasn't given access to the information she needed? Frustrated, she sat back giving the Chitauri staff a dirty look. When it was time to leave she realized she'd been staring off into space for over an hour. She'd been doing that a lot lately. She ducked out of her lab, the dratted blue energy still bothering her.

"Hey look, it's Tolvar," someone said as she passed. "Brought home any aliens lately?"

Aspen kept walking. As soon as she burst out the front doors, she sprinted to her car feeling thoroughly humiliated. She sat there for a long time, seriously considering handing in her two-weeks notice. No. She wasn't going to give them any satisfaction. She would keep coming into work with her head held high until they forgot about it. Jemma had been quick to tell her that she didn't think any of it was her fault and that she thought Aspen really brave. Aspen was grateful to have her as a friend, but she seemed to be the only one so far who didn't blame Aspen.

…

The next day, Aspen walked into her lab in time to see the Chitauri scepter and all of her research on the blue energy being carted off by SHIELD agents. "Hey! What's going on? That's my research you're taking away!"

"Sorry. Orders of Director Fury," one of the agents told her with a shrug.

Aspen watched helplessly as all of her research was taken away, folders, notes, and everything. She felt a nerve twitching above her eye. This was not all right with her. She marched herself up to Fury's office, entering after a short knock. He looked up at her, eyes hard.

"Ah, agent Tolvar. I assume this has something to do with your research on the blue energy."

"You can't just take away my research. That's months and months of work!"

"I no longer need you to look into the energy," he told her. "This is nonnegotiable."

"To hell it is. You were the one who told me to study it in the first place! You left that Chitauri staff for me to look at."

"I didn't leave that staff. I believe the person who left it was trying to get a message across. That was supposed to be locked up. I suggest you start looking into the remaining ARTIFACT items that are being held in storage."

"I was onto something though! Didn't you get my memo?" she asked. Had Charlie failed to deliver it after their spat?

"Yes, I did receive your memo. I can assure you that it will be looked into. Your research is being sent to another facility. Your energy would be better spent elsewhere."

"Like filing away items like a curator," she said bitterly.

"Need I remind you of January?" Fury's one eye said everything.

"Yes, sir," Aspen said, humbled. "I'll see to it right away."

"See that you do."

Aspen retreated from the office, feeling the shame that came after a scolding. She heard a few snickers as she headed back to her now empty lab. She sat for a long time at her computer. She'd checked her messages but Clint hadn't been responding. She hadn't actually heard from him since shortly after the Chitauri invasion. He'd been on the same mission for a long time, but Coulson had assured her that he was perfectly safe. It was more of a security job, he told her but wouldn't tell her where Clint was. Natasha was somewhere overseas on a job, and Aspen felt completely useless. She sighed. At least when she had worked for ARTIFACT, she'd been busy all the time. Having this much lull time was not helping her forget the Winter Incident as she had taken to calling it.

Finding that her mind was far too dangerous when left to its own devices, Aspen headed down to the storage area with her clipboard and list of items. The wall had been patched up after the incident and the dead Chitauri cleared away. No one seemed to remember her defeating ten Chitauri on her own anymore. Not that she was one to bring it up, but she thought that it might count for something even if Loki had really killed eight of them. She grumbled to herself while looking for the ARTIFACT items that had been recovered. She looked down at her clipboard and found the row where the items were stored. She pulled out drawer A12 and stared down at the object. It was a familiar looking piece of wood.

"Noah's Ark indeed," she said. She picked up the piece of wood and examined it more closely. It looked familiar somehow. Then she realized where she had seen it before. It was the end of a Chitauri staff. How had Danners gotten his hands on this? Then it occurred to her. This hadn't been the Chitauri's first attempt to overtake Earth. Nor would it be their last. She shoved the wood back into the drawer, writing down a note on her paper. She slid open the next drawer. And dropped her clipboard. Inside the drawer lay a wooden puzzle box. She shut her eyes and remembered.

_She was three years old, nearly four. It was shortly before the explosion. She'd always been fascinated with the antique puzzle box her mother kept on her dresser even if she'd been too young to understand it. She wasn't quite tall enough to reach it, but one day her mother brought it down to her level, setting it on the floor before her. _

"_It's a puzzle, Pen," she told her. She didn't tell her that she was too young to understand, she just took her fingers gently and helped her slide the pieces of the box until it opened. Aspen remembered clapping in joy at finally getting to see what was in the box. There was something flat within, something she didn't know the function of. Her mother closed the box without taking the object out._

"_One day you'll solve this box yourself," her mother had told her. _

Joseph Danners must have stolen this from her childhood home after her parents faked their own deaths. She reached into the drawer and gently pulled the box out. She retrieved her fallen clipboard and made her way back to her lab, setting the box on her desk before her. Her fingers moved mechanically, sliding the pieces back and forth until there was a click and the secret panel opened. She reached in, pulling out a piece of paper and what was unmistakably a floppy disk. She stared at the antique bit of tech for a moment before turning to the paper. Her heart skipped a beat as she read the familiar handwriting.

_Dear Pen,_

_By the time you find this box and read this letter, we'll be long gone. I want you to know that only the greatest desperation and the need to protect you would have driven us into hiding. We are on the run from the notorious Joseph Danners whom I hope you never have the misfortune of meeting. He and his men will do anything to get their hands on a formula your father and I have been working on since college. I won't say too much here in case this letter falls into the wrong hands. _

_Just remember that you will always have your memories, Aspen. No one can ever take those away from you. I'm sorry you don't have more of us, but remember the fun times we had in the Sunflower House? Sometimes the best memories are the ones that guide us later in life. Remember, Aspen. _

_I am sure that wherever you are and wherever we are, you are making us proud. I wish I could tell you that in person. I hope that I get that opportunity. Never lose sight of who you are. _

_Love,_

_Your mother and father_

_1994_

Underneath the letter was a formula scrawled out quickly. It wasn't anything like the formulas she'd see for the Superhero Serum. Aspen set the letter down, finding that she had tears in her eyes. She hastily wiped them away, afraid of dripping on the letter. She folded it with care and put it back in the box. Her mother had written that to her. She had known that she would have to leave Aspen when she was writing it. A wave of sorrow passed over Aspen. Not for the first time she longed for her parents. If she could just see them once, tell them how much she missed them… _Just remember that you will always have your memories, Aspen_. Aspen thought back to the house she had grown up in. She did have memories however vague of that place. She hadn't been back to Portland since her aunt had moved her to Arizona when she was three.

She picked up the floppy disk, looking down at it. There was nothing written on it, but she was sure there was something important on it. She looked down at her computer, but it didn't even have a floppy disk drive. She already had her hand on the phone, ready to call Charlie to ask if he could drop by the tech department and see if he could locate a floppy disk drive, but memories of their last interaction kept her from doing so. She decided to go herself. This was important enough to risk a little humiliation. Ten minutes and one floppy disk drive later, she was sitting back in her lab holding the floppy disk like it was made of glass. She hesitated and then inserted it. Why was she feeling so nervous? Her parents had meant for her to find this.

The computer began to read the floppy disk. A message popped up that read 'Error: Unrecognized Location.' She sat back with an angry huff. Maybe the disk was corrupt? She dialed the tech department and asked about the message.

"Sometimes data can only be read from a certain place. You can set it so that only a specific computer recognizes it," the tech agent replied to her question.

"So I would have to be at the exact computer meant to read this disk?"

"Probably. It's a common way to keep data encrypted."

After Aspen hung up, her thoughts went to the deed to her childhood home that her parents had left her. Maybe a trip back home was just what she needed to start piecing things together. She hardly dared ask Fury for a personal leave. She would have to wait until she was back in his good graces. She returned the floppy disk to the box and tucked it into one of her drawers, locking it in. That was one riddle she would have to unravel later. She felt like she was close to something, but she wasn't quite sure what. There were so many mysteries connected to her parents and the serum they'd been developing. She wanted to start finding answers, but she wasn't quite sure where to start. It felt like turning over a new page though. She hadn't thought of the Winter Incident in at least half an hour. It was a start. In the coming months, she would find that she wasn't the only one trying to find a new start. Second chances were possible, and moving on sometimes took finding something more to live for.


	18. Part Three: The Soldier

**Part Three: The Soldier**

**Prologue – April 17, 2012**

Something was buzzing in the background, a soft static voice announcing something he couldn't quite make out. He blinked his eyes open, the whitewashed walls of a hospital room coming into focus. As his mind focused on his surroundings, he could pick out the sounds of cars down below on the streets. The windows were open and a warm breeze wafted in.

"_There's a pitch, it's a ball high outside. The Dodgers tied four to four. At the count no doubt, one swing of his bat…"_

He focused on the radio across from him, sitting up and setting his feet on the floor. _"Just an absolutely gorgeous day here at Ebbets Field. Philly's have managed to tie it up four to four, but the Dodgers have three men on."_

There was something familiar about the game. He was still staring at the radio trying to figure it out when a nurse stepped into the room. She smiled at him. "Good morning. Or should I say afternoon."

He looked up at her, narrowing his eyes. "Where am I?"

"You're in a recovery room in New York City."

"_The Dodgers take the lead, it's eight to four."_

He realized why the game sounded so familiar. "Where am I really?" he asked. He got to his feet, watching the nurse warily.

"I'm afraid I don't understand." Her smile faltered, and he could tell that she was lying.

"The game," he said. "It's from May, 1941. I know because I was there. Now I'm going to ask you again. Where am I?"

"Captain Rogers…"

"Who are you?" he asked. His mind was already thinking out an escape plan.

"Captain Rogers, wait," she said as he began to look around for a way out of the room. "All agents, code 13," she said into a device on her ear. Two more men wearing suits came into the room. He backed away from them, feeling cornered. Something was very off. He needed to get out of here. The agents came at him, and he acted in defense, shoving them away. They hit the wall harder than he'd meant but instead of slumping to the floor they went straight through the wall. It broke apart easily, and as he leapt out and looked back, he saw that it was just a stage, a thin wall. His room was like the set to a play. He didn't take time to think further about it. He took off sprinting, no idea of where he was going. He sped out into a hallway, pausing before running on. Several men tried to stop him, but he powered through them, knocking anyone aside who tried to stop him. He finally found the doors and found himself on the sidewalk at the edge of a street filled with the strangest vehicles he'd ever seen. He didn't have time to figure out what was happening. He was being pursued. He took off down the street, running as fast as he could. The last thing he remembered was taking the Valkyrie into the Arctic water. Had he succeeded? How had he ended up in New York? Why did everything look so different? He stopped in the middle of the street when he reached what he recognized as Times Square. Everything had changed. Screens with bright images flashed at him from all directions. He turned in a circle and saw that black vehicles were quickly surrounding him. He readied himself to run.

"At ease, soldier." He turned to find himself facing a man with a black patch over his left eye. He had the look of a man in control. "Look, I'm sorry about that little show back there, but we thought it best to break it to you slowly."

"Break what?" he asked.

"You've been asleep, Cap. For almost seventy years."

He stopped breathing for a second. Seventy years? Any thoughts of running had disappeared. How could he have been asleep for seventy years? He'd just put the Valkyrie in the water the day before.

"You gonna be okay?" the man asked, looking a little concerned.

"Yeah," he said, trying to settle his wildly beating heart. He glanced around at the alien city around him. "Yeah, just…I had a date."


	19. The Quiet Soldier

**Author's Note: **You have no idea how glad I am to be home. Our new microwave at work tripped the circuit and I lost power to the cash register... Not good. Thankfully a guy came over and fixed it in like 2 minutes, but I was pretty much freaking out. My nerves are still frayed. Anyway, here is the chapter I promised. I just had to share that story. I'm going to go drink some tea now.

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**16 – The Quiet Soldier– April 18, 2012**

"Tolvar." Aspen stopped at the sound of her name, turning to face Fury. "I have a job for you," he said. She frowned. She'd just finished her reports on the items she'd collected from the remains of the ARTIFACT headquarters.

"I finished with the ARTIFACT items," she told him.

"I know. This is something different. You can take a break from cataloging for a few days." Aspen narrowed her eyes in suspicion. He was giving her time off?

"What would you like me to do?" she asked.

"You heard about the man they found in the ice?" he asked.

She nodded. Everyone had heard about the recovery of Captain America. He was a legend.

"He just woke up sixty-seven years in the future. He's confused and upset. He needs someone to be his guide of sorts."

"And you think _I_ would be the right person for that?" she asked.

"He needs someone who knows what it feels like to be on the outside. I think you two would get along well."

Aspen stared at him. What on earth would she and a ninety-something year old super soldier have to talk about? "Umm…"

"Do you have a problem with that suggestion?" Fury asked, his expression darkening.

"No, sir," Aspen said quickly. "I can go meet him. What do you want me to do?"

"Take him around the city. He grew up here. Show him how to use modern technology. Make sure he doesn't get himself into trouble. Right now he's a lost soul. He needs someone to talk to, to listen."

Aspen felt a stab of sympathy. She knew very well what it felt like to be lost and to have no one to talk to. "I'll do it," she said.

"He's in the medical bay right now. Room 34."

Aspen nodded. "Should I report back, sir?"

"If anything important comes up. For now let's just focus on getting him settled in the 21st century. And Tolvar? His name is Steve. Steve Rogers."

Aspen nodded. It was nice to know there was a man behind the title. It made the idea of meeting him a little less intimidating. Of course she remembered the museum exhibit Clint had taken her to when she had first started working for SHIELD, but meeting the man in person was a bit different than reading about him and looking at pictures.

Aspen made her way to the medical bay, wondering just what Captain America was going to be like, or Steve Rogers as he was also known by. She'd never really been one to take much stock in superheroes. When so much had gone wrong with her life, she'd never had someone swoop in and save her. Not that she needed saving. She preferred to save herself. She stopped outside of room 34, suddenly feeling nervous. She was going to knock, but then she noticed that the door was slightly ajar. She pushed it open, finding herself in an open room that was more a living space than a hospital room. She'd heard that they'd put him in a room that looked like it had come out of the 1940s so that when he woke up he wasn't completely freaked out, but it hadn't worked. He'd run off, and Fury had found him in Times Square completely lost and confused. Aspen couldn't imagine waking up nearly seventy years in the future. There had been so many advancements and changes in that time; it would be like entering a whole new world.

There was a large window on one wall of the room, and she saw a man sitting in front of it, a drawing pad rested on his crossed leg. He was sketching something, and Aspen came closer to see what it was. She held her breath when she saw it. He was drawing the cityscape below him, the view from his window. It was in simple pencil but the intricacy was beautiful. He had real talent. He seemed to sense her presence because he stopped sketching and turned to look at her. Aspen froze, embarrassed that she'd been caught sneaking up on him. She'd just wanted to see what he was drawing. He looked at her in surprise, blue eyes vivid against a handsome face. His blonde hair was short and a bit ruffled on top as if he'd been running his fingers through it a lot in the last few hours.

"Hi, sorry, I didn't mean to startle you," Aspen said shyly. He was watching her with those sharp blue eyes, and she couldn't read the emotion behind them. "I'm Aspen," she said, holding out her hand. "Director Fury sent me to help acclimate you to the 21st century."

He didn't speak, and for a moment she was afraid he wasn't going to shake her hand. Then he set down his pencil and pad and stood, reaching out his hand to shake hers. It completely engulfed her own small hand, but his shake was surprisingly soft. "Nice to meet you, ma'am," he said politely. "I'm Steve, but you probably already knew that."

"I'd rather hear it from you," she said with a smile. He smiled back, hesitantly as if he didn't quite know what to make of her. His eyes flitted to the scar that ran in a thin line down the right side of her face, but then he met her eyes again. "How are you doing?" she asked. The smile faded, and she cursed herself inwardly. Of course he wasn't doing great.

"I've been better," he admitted. "This whole waking up in 2012 thing is something that takes more than a little adjusting."

"I can't even begin to imagine," she said sympathetically. She noticed then just how much he towered over her. He had to be at least five inches taller than her and he had broad shoulders and muscles that put most men to shame. Of course he had the ideal body of a soldier. The serum he'd been injected with had seen to that. He seemed to notice her discomfort because pulled out a chair for her and then reclaimed is seat by the window after she sat.

"Has New York changed a lot?" Aspen asked.

"A lot of it has, but a lot of it is still the same," he told her. "It's surreal."

Aspen nodded, not knowing what else to say. She had known this was going to be awkward. She picked at a loose thread at the bottom of her shirt. "I'm sorry," she blurted. "I don't really know what I'm doing here or how I can help. I have no idea what if feels like to wake up 67 years in the future. I honestly hadn't even heard of Captain America until a year ago. Maybe I should just go." She made to stand up but Steve put out a hand to stop her.

"You don't have to leave," he said. "I honestly wouldn't mind just talking to someone. A distraction would really help. Why don't you tell me about yourself? Do you work for SHIELD?"

"Yeah, sort of. I mean, I do, but I'm also going to school at Columbia University. I'm studying science. My parents were scientists. They worked for SHIELD for awhile." She stopped talking, realizing that she was rambling, but Steve was listening intently.

"What field of science are you studying?" he asked.

"I haven't committed but I'm torn between astrophysics and genetics," she said.

"That's some heavy stuff. You must be gifted," he said.

Aspen blushed. "My parents get the credit for that," she said modestly.

"You said your parents _were_ scientists. Are they no longer in that line of work?" he asked.

"It's complicated," Aspen said softly. "I thought that they were dead, but it turns out they faked their own deaths to protect themselves and me. I was three. I have no idea where they are now."

Steve's blue eyes widened in sympathy. "I'm sorry to hear that. My parents died when I was young," he said. Aspen looked up at him in surprise. She hadn't realized that. "I went to live in an orphanage when I was five."

"I had no idea," Aspen said. "That must have been hard. I had an aunt to live with, but it wasn't the same as having parents."

"It was difficult," he agreed, his gaze drifting off to the window. "I was fortunate to meet a boy who became my best friend a few years later though. He helped me through a lot of rough times."

"I'm glad you had someone," Aspen said. "Maybe you'll meet someone here who can help you through all this."

Steve turned to look at her, blue eyes wide and honest. "Maybe I already have," he said, a smile touching his lips.

Aspen found herself smiling back. "Maybe you have," she said. Steve Rogers was nothing like she thought he would be. It was easy to hype up a superhero, but this man was just a lost person who needed reassurance and a friend just like anyone else. "Where did you learn to draw like that?" Aspen asked, nodding toward the sketchpad that now sat on the windowsill.

Steve looked over at it as if he had forgotten he had been drawing. "I've always loved drawing," he said. "It was a form of escape when times got rough. When I was in my late teens, I took some art classes with my friend Bucky."

"I wish I could draw," Aspen admitted. "I don't really have any special talents like that."

"I'm sure you have something," Steve told her. "You're good at science clearly."

"Yes, but I don't play a musical instrument or write poetry or draw."

"It's never too late to learn something."

"If I had time. Between working for SHIELD and going to college, I'm a bit short on time."

"What do you do for SHIELD?" Steve asked.

"I work in the Department of Unknown Objects. I'm the only one who calls it that. It's kind of like the Department of Mysteries from Harry Potter." At Steve's confused expression she elaborated. "Sorry, it's just a series of books. A very good, must read series."

"I'll remember that."

"I basically collect and catalogue items that SHIELD obtains. I conduct experiments when necessary and basically try to see if an object is dangerous or not and what it does. Ever since we had a Norse god and his hammer fall to Earth, SHIELD has been trying to keep objects of unknown power safely locked away. I also sometimes go on missions to obtain objects. _Used _to. I'm…taking a break from that for awhile. I suppose that's my special talent. Smuggling. I used to work for an organization that obtained objects and then sold them to the highest bidder."

"What happened?"

"They tried to kill me. A SHIELD agent saved me and took me under his wing. I got lucky."

"It sounds like you've had a rough life," he said with a frown.

Aspen shrugged. "I like to think it builds character," she said. "Or at least that's what people tell me. Somehow it doesn't really help. No matter what people tell you, it still happened. There are memories I can't forget. Scars I can't erase." Her hand went to her cheek unconsciously where the thin scar ran down her cheekbone. Steve's eyes watched her hand, taking in the scar.

"Who did that to you?" he asked. Aspen looked at him, surprised by the defense in his voice.

"I don't know who he was," she said. "I was on a mission and something went wrong. I got caught, got hurt..." She noticed that Steve had balled his hands into fists, but he didn't seem to notice. "Enough of this heavy talk," Aspen said, forcing a smile. "How would you like to go see New York? With a tour guide this time?"

Steve seemed to think about this for a minute, then he nodded. "I'd like to get out of this room," he said. "Is Fury alright with me leaving?" His tone indicated that he was not happy being kept here.

"He told me to look after you. I don't see how keeping you locked in this room is going to help." She stood and Steve followed suit, grabbing a dark brown leather jacket from where it rested on a hook by the bed. He followed her out of the room, keeping close as she took them through the med bay and toward the front entrance of SHIELD. She kept her head down as they passed several of SHIELDs agents. One of them stopped to speak to her.

"I thought you'd had your fill of superheroes, Tolvar. At least this one _is_ a hero this time. Be careful with that one," he threw the last remark at Steve who frowned.

"Ignore them," Aspen muttered, picking up the pace. Steve followed her, glaring back at the two men.

"What was that about?" he asked.

Aspen really didn't want to have this conversation. "Let's just say that not a lot of people trust me after something that happened this winter. I put my trust in the wrong person and it kind of blew up in my face," she added at Steve's confused expression. "I have trust issues now, and half of SHIELD thinking I'm the most naïve and inexperienced employee is not helpful."

"Everybody makes mistakes," Steve told her.

She threw him a grateful smile. "Thank you for not judging me," she said.

"I don't know you well enough to judge you. Even if I did, I wouldn't judge you."

Aspen gave him a sidelong glance. There was nothing dishonest in his blue eyes. "Then you're one of a kind," she said.

When they reached her car, Aspen clicked the automatic locks. Steve jumped a little when the car beeped and the headlights briefly flashed. "You had cars back then, right?" she asked with a smile.

He nodded. "Not like this."

"This is an Audi," she said. "Let me show you how it works." She held up her keys. "This button unlocks the doors. It sends a signal to the car. I'm not entirely sure how that works because I know little to nothing about cars. Most everything is electric now. No more hand cranking the windows to get them up and down." She opened the driver's side door, and Steve slowly opened the passenger door. They both slid in, and Aspen put the key in the ignition. "I suspect it basically works the way cars did in your time. This is an automatic though. You put it in gear." She indicated the gear consul. "D for drive. R for reverse. Release the emergency brake, and then you're good to go. No changing gears, the car does all that. Of course maybe cars only had one gear back then. I'm not sure." She frowned.

"They certainly didn't go 180 miles an hour," Steve said, furrowing his brow as he glanced at the speedometer.

"That's the beauty of modern technology," she said with a smile. "Everything is faster." She backed out of her parking spot, noticing that Steve tensed a bit. "Don't worry, we're not going _that_ fast," she assured him. "We have speed limits."

She started driving aimlessly, unsure of what he'd want to see. They found their way to Central Park where Aspen found a parking spot. "Do you want to walk around the park for a while?" she asked. "I feel like I need some fresh air. I just spent all morning cataloging items in the basement."

"Sure," he agreed easily, unsnapping his seatbelt. They got out and headed toward the entrance. Steve kept his hands in his jacket pockets, looking around him with something like wonderment on his face. "This hasn't changed," he said, indicating the park.

"Some things never do change." They were on the opposite side of the park from where Aspen lived. The opposite side from where she had found Loki. She pushed the thought away. "I love coming here just to think and take a break from the world," she told him. "Sometimes things in my line of work get a little too intense. It's not like working a normal office job or any normal job really. I can't come home from work and rant to my friends about a tough day. I can't tell anyone what I do. Well, nearly anyone," she said, smiling at Steve.

"What do your friends think you do?" he asked.

Aspen sighed. "I don't really have many friends," she said. "I don't get out a lot. I have a few people I sit by in classes and study with, but other than that, I tend to keep to myself. The only people I would really consider a friend are the man who introduced me to SHIELD and a girl in the science division. Clint's away a lot though, so I don't get to see him very often and Jemma is usually really busy."

"Everyone I knew is either dead or close to death," Steve said.

"That's worse," Aspen said. "I couldn't imagine. Do they know you're alive?"

"I don't think so. I don't think Fury has told anyone I'm alive."

"How about your friend? The one you mentioned earlier. Is he still alive do you know?" she asked.

A shadow passed over Steve's face, and Aspen cursed herself for bringing up a sore subject. "No," he said. "I know for a fact that he's dead. He fell. During the war – World War II, that is."

"I'm sorry."

He smiled sadly at her. "He was the best friend I ever had. It seems like yesterday that I lost him. Heck, it was only a few days ago that I was still fighting a war. Now I'm told the war is over. That we're fighting another one now."

"War is never over," Aspen said softly. "We might be done fighting one person, one army, but there's always someone else out there to make an enemy of."

"But there's always something worth fighting for," Steve said.

"I suppose that's true. I'm not sure what _I'm_ fighting for anymore…" she trailed off, not really sure why she was telling him this. They had made their way through the park and to a small area with a few benches and a small duck pond. Aspen sat down on the bench overlooking the water and Steve joined her a moment later.

"You sound unhappy," he said. "It's not any of my business, but it seems to me like someone as young as you should have something more to look forward to."

"Maybe I'm just tired," she said. "Sometimes you just stop caring. I'm sorry. God, when did this turn into a sob story about me? I'm not the one who just woke up 67 years in the future."

"I don't mind listening," he told her. "For awhile there I forgot why I was feeling so bad."

Aspen smiled. "I'm glad I could help," she said. She felt a little lighter talking to him too. She hadn't had anyone to talk to for a long time. It'd been even longer since someone had just stopped to listen. "Thanks for listening," she said. "I don't get that much." She scuffed her sneaker on the ground, looking shyly over at Steve.

He looked at her, blue eyes serious. "You said you only had two friends, but now you have three," he said.

Her smile grew. "I guess I did alright?" she asked. "I was afraid I'd run out of things to say in the first minute."

Steve shook his head. "I wouldn't think that. You're the first person who has shown genuine interest in me since I woke up. Everyone else seems like they have something to gain."

"Just doing my job," she said bashfully. "I don't have anything to gain. Just a friend." She smiled at this. "I have to say, you're nothing like I imagined. I mean, I didn't really know anything about you except that you're Captain America. But you're a lot more than that. You're a person just like me. You've suffered and lost and hurt just the same as anyone else. More than anyone else after what you've been through."

"Thanks for seeing past the name," he said quietly. "I've never been entirely comfortable with it. People keep shaking my hand. One of the doctors said that his father had been a fan. I'm just a person."

"You're a hero. I heard about what you did during World War II. You basically sacrificed your own life to save a lot of people."

"I guess I'm just afraid that I can't live up to the legend, that I can't live up to Captain America."

"It's a lot of pressure," Aspen agreed. "My whole life I felt like I had to live up to someone's expectations no matter what they were. Then I realized that the only person's expectations I have to live up to are my own. Other people think they know where my life is going, where it _should_ go, but that's my choice."

"I wish it was that easy."

"You just need time," she told him. "People are crazy if they expect you to adjust to the 21st century and go back to saving the world in a week."

"Fortunately the world doesn't need saving right now."

They fell quiet for a long while, watching the ducks floating lazily around the pond. Aspen shut her eyes and leaned back, letting the spring sunshine warm her face. When she opened her eyes, she saw that Steve had his sketchbook out again. He was sketching the pond this time. She watched him draw, his hand moving assuredly, making the pencil do things Aspen didn't think possible.

"You're really good at that," she said after a moment.

He finished and tore the page from the sketchpad. "Keep it," he said.

"Really?" She took the page he offered her. "Thank you."

"You're welcome."

"Are you hungry at all?" she asked. "I'm sure food they serve in the hospital isn't all that satisfying."

"I could go for something."

"They had cheeseburgers and fries back then, right?" she asked.

Steve grinned. "They sure did," he said.

"I know a good burger place a few blocks away."

"Sounds good to me."

They made their way back to her car, and Aspen carefully set the drawing down on the backseat before driving them to the restaurant. This morning she had been dreading her new assignment, now she was happier than she'd been in a very long while. She glanced at Steve when they were stopped at a traffic light. He was gazing out the window, brow furrowed slightly. What must it be like? Everything must feel so strange and yet so familiar to him. He'd grown up here. It must have been hard waking up to find that the world had gone on without him. Aspen refocused on the road as the light changed. Some days she wished the world would go on without her, but today didn't feel that way. Somehow the quiet soldier had given her something more to hold on to.


	20. Lonely Hearts

**Author's Note: **More favorites and watches! Thank you, thank you, thank you! This story is really taking off and exceeding my expectations. I've got some great reviews and some great advice, and it's all very much appreciated! I can assure you that Steve will now be present in most if not all of the chapters in the remainder of this story. I think I'm leaning toward posting a sequel to this story. I've got the most epic cliffhanger planned. I'm excited.

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**17 – Lonely Hearts – April 22, 2012**

They were fast becoming friends. Aspen had come by Steve's room every day since she had met him. They'd started spending more time outside in New York. She'd taken him to the zoo, to the Museum of Natural Science, to the Statue of Liberty. She'd bought him a baseball cap in Brooklyn which he now wore whenever they were outside. He'd shared a little more about his past, illuminating the good memories – usually involving his best friend Bucky. He spoke seldom about the war, and Aspen didn't pry. Likewise he didn't ask her about working for ARTIFACT. She was on spring break for classes and had nothing better to do. In all honestly, she was enjoying the time they spent together. She had framed his drawing of the pond and hung it on the wall in her living room. Every time she looked at it, she smiled. It was a good memory; she had so few of those.

Today he met her at her car, a smile on his face. His blue eyes were much more alive than when she had first met him. They held a caring warmth that had replaced the caution and concealed fear. It was the same warmth she'd seen in some of the pictures in the museum Clint had taken her to. That she got to be on the receiving end of that warmth was something she was still getting used to. He was so kind to her, so down-to-earth and humble that she found herself forgetting that he was a hero from the 40s. To her he was just Steve and a friend. He didn't judge her and took the time to really listen to what she had to say.

Today she'd decided to take him to her apartment to teach him the basics of modern electronics and appliances. He had eagerly agreed to this. "Want to drive?" she asked, jiggling her keys in the air.

Steve's smile turned cautious. "Do you think I'm ready?" he asked.

"You know how to drive a car. You'll be fine. I'll give directions." She tossed him the keys and climbed into the passenger side. Steve slid into the driver's seat. He had to adjust the seat quite a bit to fit his long legs, and Aspen smiled as she watched him fiddle with the seat adjuster until he got it just right. He put the key into the ignition and turned it. The engine roared to life, and he jumped a little, clearly nervous. "You'll be fine," Aspen told him. "Alright, press down on the brake and put the car in drive. Then release the emergency brake." He did as she said, clearly a quick learner. "You know how to accelerate and brake and steer, and that's all there really is to it."

He cautiously pulled forward, going very slowly. Aspen didn't comment, she just grinned, watching the look of concentration on his face turn to that of enjoyment as he drove a little faster. "Not so bad," he said as he hit fifteen miles an hour.

"I bet your rust bucket didn't even go twenty," she said.

His eyes glowed with the challenge. He pressed down on the gas. Soon they were going thirty-five, heading into the city. He was a good driver, and Aspen remembered that he could learn and adapt more quickly than the average human. She instructed him on how to get to her apartment, and he pulled into the parking spot in front of the complex, putting the car in park and shutting off the engine.

"Here we are," she said, feeling suddenly nervous though she wasn't sure why. She led him to her apartment, using the elevator – he knew what those did.

"Last time I was in one of these, there was a doorman," he said. "He controlled the buttons."

Aspen smiled. "That would be a particularly boring job, I'd imagine," she said. She realized just how much of the elevator he took up. His muscular frame dwarfed her, but there was nothing imposing about him. Quite the opposite. She felt comfortable near him. Normally it took her ages to warm up to anyone. Especially after the Winter Incident. Clint and Jemma had been the two exceptions as Clint had saved her life and Jemma had an infectious way of cheering up everyone around her. As the elevator reached the tenth floor she realized that the last man she had brought up here besides Clint was Loki. The thought gave her chills. Steve seemed to notice her discomfort. He hung back a little as she unlocked her apartment door.

"Come in," she said, forcing all thoughts of Loki away. She set her keys on the table next to the door. Steve came in and shut the door behind him. He looked around, taking in the modern furniture and wide screen TV set above the electric fireplace. His eyes glanced over the walls and stopped at his drawing of the pond. He turned to her, a smile lighting his face. She'd seen more smiles from him lately and it suited him. She smiled back.

"You framed it." He sounded touched.

"Of course I did. I love it."

"These photos are beautiful." He indicated the black and white prints on her wall.

"Oh, those." Aspen had signed up for a photography class that semester using her dad's old camera that her aunt had sent her. "I'm trying my hand at photography this year in school."

"_You_ took these?" he asked incredulously. "I thought you said you didn't have any special talents. These are incredible."

She'd taken mostly architectural shots of alleys and dingy buildings but in the black and white, the contrasting textures and shades of black, grey, and white were breathtaking. She shrugged self-consciously. "Thank you. I used my dad's old camera." She pulled it off the shelf where she kept it. "Now everybody's using digital cameras, but I wanted to try something old-fashioned."

She handed him the camera which he held with a sort of reverence. "I never did own a camera," he said. "I guess I didn't get much of a chance."

"I could teach you how to use it," Aspen said.

"I'd like that."

"In exchange you can teach me how to draw," she said. "My ducks usually look like mutants and my stick people offend sticks."

He laughed then, a clear, honest sort of laugh. It was the first time she'd heard him laugh, she realized. "Deal," Steve said, putting the camera back where it belonged.

"Alright. Modern life 101," Aspen said, turning to face her apartment. She'd already halted the 'ma'ams' early on, insisting that he call her Aspen. "Where do we start? Since I don't know much about the earlier half of the 1900s, why don't you look around and tell me what's different?"

Steve frowned pensively and looked around. His eyes lit on the fireplace. "How do you get in there to start a fire and where's the chimney?" he asked.

"Oh, that's an electric fireplace. It hooks up to the electricity." She walked over and knelt down next to it, flipping up the panel that covered the on button. "You switch this button and it turns on. You can control the heat." She chuckled at the expression on Steve's face.

"You can just start fire with a button now?" he asked.

"No. The flames are fake," she told him. "They're just lights that reflect to look like flames. The logs are fake too." She pressed the button to turn it on.

"They look pretty realistic."

"It's nice because you get the same effect as a fireplace but you don't have to worry about it causing a fire or adding logs." She switched it off.

"We had televisions, but they were about a quarter of that size," he said, motioning to her flat screen TV.

"Yeah, the quality has improved somewhat over the years too."

"The nurse turned the television on in my new room the other day. It looked like the people were standing right there, and it was all in color."

"Here's a tip – people spend way too much time watching TV and using their cell phones these days. I don't suppose they've showed you one of those yet?" He shook his head, and she pulled out her own. "It functions just like a telephone only it doesn't have a cord. You just enter the number into the keypad and call." She handed it over to Steve. He fumbled with it for a moment.

"It's tiny," he said, handing it back.

She tucked it back into her pocket. "But useful." She led him into the kitchen. "This is where the most advancements are, I suppose." She'd taken some time to Google when certain things had been invented like microwaves (first introduced into the household in 1967). "Right. You had refrigerators, and stoves, and toasters, but you did not have microwaves." She patted hers like it was a prized possession. "If you want to cook something fast or boil water, this is what you use. Observe." She filled an empty mug with water and put it into the microwave. She typed in three minutes and pressed start. "It sends heat waves at the food or water and warms it up. There are a lot of microwavable dinners and stuff if you need a quick meal." They waited patiently until the microwave beeped. Steve started a bit.

"That's loud."

She smiled, pushing the door release button and taking out the mug of water. The water was still bubbling up and steam was issuing from the top. Steve looked impressed. They spent a half an hour in the kitchen trying out all the appliances. They all basically functioned the same as in the 1940s, but they worked much more efficiently, Steve told her. The dishwasher and garbage disposal were both new, and Aspen found herself getting excited over appliances she used everyday. They made lunch (macaroni and cheese) and sat down at the table. The sun was blaring in through the windows, and Aspen shrugged off her sweater.

"This is pretty good," Steve said, taking his first bite of macaroni and cheese.

"It's a staple in the American diet," she told him seriously.

"I can see that," he said, smiling. He'd seen her cupboard stocked with boxes of the stuff.

"What do you want to do later?" she asked.

"Would you mind if we took a drive?" he asked. "There's somewhere I'd like to go."

"Yeah, of course." They finished their lunch, and Steve helped her load the dishwasher. She locked up the apartment, and they went to her car. "What to drive?" she asked, holding up her keys.

"Sure. I think I can find my way," he said. She tossed him the keys and got into the passenger side. They drove south for about half an hour, and Aspen wondered where they were going. They entered Brooklyn, and Steve drove until they came to a dingier part of town, and she saw more and more homeless on the streets with signs pleading for help. She saw Steve's hands tighten on the wheel. He pulled onto 8th Avenue and slowed when they came to a set of small houses that looked as if they had been remodeled some time in the 50s. He stopped before a particularly grey one with peeling paint and laundry hung out across the front porch.

"Where are we?" Aspen asked.

"My childhood home," he replied.

"Oh…" Aspen looked over at the house. It was hard to believe that Steve had grown up there. She realized he had grown up during the Great Depression when families were forced to scrape by and often went hungry. She thought back to her own childhood. Even if she hadn't been happy she'd always had a roof over her head and food to eat.

"My parents were Irish immigrants," Steve spoke up, startling her out of her thoughts. "My father died in the war when I was a child. My mother died of tuberculosis. The orphanage I was sent to is a few blocks away."

"It must be surreal coming back here."

He nodded. "But it somehow makes all this more real. If this house is still here then this really is the world I once knew."

Aspen stared at the old house trying to imagine for a moment what it must feel like to wake up so many years in the future, to realize that everything, every_one_ you once knew was gone or changed… She might begin to wonder if her past had happened at all or if it was just a dream. Sometimes she thought her parents were just a figment of her imagination, but she supposed her home in Portland would still be there, the last sad remembrance of the life she had once had. She supposed in a way she could relate. Sometimes she wished she could black out the years in between now and then, but she knew that was a selfish, weak wish. Steve would never be able to get those years back. He had to keep going, keep reminding himself that they really had happened, just without him.

They sat each in their own thoughts until he silently pulled away from the curb, driving the few blocks until they saw the orphanage he had spent his youth in. It was dilapidated and boarded up, no longer serving any purpose save a roost for the pigeons. It was a sad place, and Aspen was suddenly so thankful that her aunt had taken her in even though those years had not been happy. Steve had stopped the car, and she reached out a hand and placed it on his. He jumped slightly but then relaxed. He turned his blue eyes to look at her, and she could see the old memories resurfacing behind them.

"Did you grow up in New York?" he asked.

She shook her head, pulling her hand back into her lap. "Portland, Oregon. I don't remember much but I do remember my childhood home."

"Will you tell me about it?" he asked. There was a child-like pleading in his eyes, and she nodded.

"I remember a two-story farmhouse with peeling white paint. I remember my mother painting it yellow one summer, the color of a sunflower. My dad was upset at first, but then he started to love it. They called it the Sunflower House. I remember an aspen tree in the front yard with beautiful white bark the color of snow. I remember sitting on the porch sucking on popsicles and playing in the leaves when they fell in autumn. I remember being happy."

"That sounds like a wonderful place. A wonderful memory," he sounded wistful.

"It was…" she said softly. "It is."

"Have you ever gone back there?"

"I haven't. I've thought about it so many times. I'd like to some day."

"I'm sorry, I'm dragging up all these memories," he said apologetically.

"No. It's not a bad thing," Aspen told him. "Sometimes it hurts to remember, but remembering with someone feels good. Do you have a happy memory from your childhood that stands out?"

"I remember when I was about four and my mom took me to see a baseball game. She'd saved up all month to buy tickets. She didn't even like baseball, but she knew I wanted to go so badly. I don't remember who was playing or who won. I just remember feeling so grown up. I remember looking up and seeing her looking down at me with a smile on her face. It was the first time I'd seen her smile in a long time. Like you, I remember being happy."

"I want to take you somewhere," Aspen said. "I'll trade you places."

Steve slid out of the driver's seat and traded her spots. She pulled away from the curb. She drove until she came to Yankee Stadium, pulling into the empty lot. There were no games right now, and they were allowed to tour the stadium. She pulled Steve with her until they were standing in the middle of the field. "Bring back memories?" she asked. "It's probably not the same stadium, but a lot of them were demolished back in the 50s and 60s."

He couldn't seem to stop smiling. "That's alright," he said. "This is perfect. Thank you." He looked down at her. "For everything. Seriously. You've made the last few days bearable. I thought I was going to be alone in this new world, but you've given me something to look forward to. Given me a reason to wake up in the morning."

Aspen flushed, pleased. "Glad I could help," she said, secretly thinking, _me too._

…

The next day Aspen took Steve to the training center at SHIELD headquarters. "Fury told me you used to box," she said. She indicated the punching bags hanging from the ceiling. "If you ever want to come down here, you're welcome to. I sometimes practice my shooting down here. It's good to keep in practice even though I'm…not working as a field agent right now."

"You're trained in combat?" he seemed surprised.

"Yeah," she said. It wasn't something she bragged about. "I'm pretty good with a gun and can fight hand-to-hand decently. Clint – the man who saved me and took me under his wing – trained me. I mean, I was trained before, but he taught me so much. He's incredible. I could never compare." She frowned. "After…after a difficult mission, I kind of lost my nerve. Someone ended up dead, and I realized I didn't want to be in situations like that. I'm not a soldier, not a spy…"

"It's not for everyone," Steve told her. "When the war started, I trained at a boxing gym with Bucky, but when we tried to recruit, they told me I wasn't fit enough. I wasn't always…like this, but you probably knew that. I had a lot of medical conditions."

"Weren't you afraid when you were injected with the serum? What if it didn't work?"

"I was nervous, but I wanted to fight and they weren't going to let me otherwise."

"You could have died."

"I was already willing to die for my country." She realized she was staring at him when he said, "What?" lifting an eyebrow.

"It's just…no one I know is like that. People just don't do things like that these days. It's all about survival, not sacrifice."

"I have to believe that there are other people out there willing to fight for what's right," Steve told her.

"We just need more people like you," she said.

They trailed upstairs a few moments later, Steve thanking her for showing him the boxing gym and saying that he would return to practice another time.

"Tolvar, Captain Rogers." They stopped at the sound of their names, turning to find Fury striding toward them. "Settling in alright, Captain?" he asked.

"As well as I can," Steve returned. He looked down at Aspen. "Miss Tolvar has been a great help to me," he said, giving her a smile.

Fury cast Aspen a look she couldn't read. "Good," he said. "I've seen to it that you get your own apartment. I'm sure you're tired of being cooped in in the med bay and all your vitals are stable. You're in perfect physical condition."

"Glad to hear it."

"You're welcome to move into at any time." He handed over a piece of paper and a key. "Here's the address and the key. It's a few blocks away from Agent Tolvar's apartment if you need anything."

"Thank you, sir," Steve said, taking the key and the address.

"I expect you back to work tomorrow," he told Aspen. "We've got several items that need to be looked over and filed." He gave them a curt nod before striding off.

"Well, did you want to move in?" Aspen asked.

"I am getting really tired of that room," Steve said. "I'll get my things."

He had a few changes of clothes, two of which looked like they had come straight out of the 1940s, and his sketchpad. He packed these in a duffel bag and left the room behind with a backwards glance. Aspen drove him to the apartment and they entered, finding it to be a nice combination of old-fashioned and modern. He set down his bag and looked around, assessing. It was furnished and comfortable looking.

"You're still welcome to come over any time," Aspen told him, realizing that this was the end of her assignment. Steve would have to learn to adapt on his own from now on. He looked at her with an expression she couldn't quite read. Regret?

"Will you have dinner with me?" he asked suddenly. "Tonight?" Pink tinged the tips of his ears. Aspen felt a little heat rush to her cheeks. "I just want to thank you for everything you've done for me," Steve added.

"Of course. I'd like that," Aspen said. It was only noon, so she said, "In the mean time, why don't you get settled? We should probably get you some groceries." She noted that there were a few boxes of cereal in the cupboard and a half-gallon of 1% milk in the fridge, but that was about it.

"It'll just take me a second to unpack," Steve told her. "I don't have much." He disappeared into what Aspen assumed was the bedroom, and she heard drawers being pulled out and shut. She walked over to the window and looked out at the view. You could see the park just like in her apartment. She could imagine him sitting on the window seat, sketching the sunsets. She didn't hear him come up behind her, gazing at the view for himself. She turned and found herself inches from his chest. She looked up, breath catching in her throat. He looked back down at her, blue eyes bright.

"Sorry," he said softly. "I didn't mean to startle you." He stepped back, and Aspen could breathe again. She wasn't sure what had come over her. She wasn't the type to get breathless over a good-looking guy. But he was more than that, wasn't he? Her brain was screaming at her to run – this would just end up like _before_, but her heart was telling her something different. Steve was _nothing_ like Loki. He was a gentleman, and he would never play around with her heart like the trickster.

"Are you ready to head out?" she asked, voice a little too high. "Or do you want to get settled more? I don't want to drag you away just when you got home."

A pained look passed over Steve's face. "It doesn't feel like home," he said.

"Not yet." She bit her lip, unsure of what to say. In that moment, she could forget that Steve was Captain America. She could forget that he was a super soldier and that he was the physical perfection of a human being. He could still feel emotions. He could still feel sorrow and pain and loneliness. He could still be lost like the rest of humankind. Like her. He seemed to be lost in his thoughts, so she took a step forward and placed a hand on his arm. He didn't jump this time, just turned his eyes on her, giving her the full force of his sadness in his gaze. This time when she couldn't breathe it was because she could feel his pain. Instead of speaking, she did something she hadn't done since she'd shot Joseph Danners and had needed someone to hold her together (that time it was Clint). She hugged him. She was so small compared to him; she didn't know if it would count for much or for anything, but after his initial surprise, he wrapped his arms around her and buried his head in her shoulder. She felt something wet on her neck, and realized that he was close to tears. He must have been trying really hard not to cry though because she didn't feel any tears fall and hit her neck. He was more relaxed than she had seen him since they had met. She could practically feel the tension falling off his shoulders. Sometimes a person just needed that human contact to know that someone was looking out for them. That someone cared.

He pulled away after a moment and when he looked at her, his eyes were dry. "Thank you," he said. "I just need some time to adjust, but somehow it feels easier knowing I've got a friend like you."

She smiled. Neither of them had had an easy life. Somehow it seemed easier when they were together though. Aspen forgot her own life and focused on making him feel better. In return, he always cared a great deal for her and what she was going through even though she thought her own troubles were trivial next to his. He never seemed to think so. "I'm always going to be here if you need anything," she said. "I know it's hard. Adjusting to all this change, leaving your old life behind you when it seems like a few days ago to you. No one expects you to just be completely settled. If I were in your place, I'd probably be going through a mental breakdown or something, so you're doing pretty well all things considered."

"Oh, I don't know," he said, looking at his shoes. "I'm kind of a mess on the inside."

"I wouldn't expect anything different. You're one of a kind. No one else to my knowledge has ever experienced what you have. You have a right to be a mess."

He sent her a grateful smile. "So, groceries," he said after a moment. "Just the thing to take my mind off of things."

"Well now you've set the bar kind of high, but I think we might be able to swing it," Aspen said. "Come on. I'll show you what a modern day super market looks like."

He locked up the apartment, and they headed to the elevator. He waited to let her enter the elevator first, always the gentleman. When they reached the street, Aspen felt that something wrong at once. She stopped short, and Steve bumped into her. Instead of apologizing, he was instantly on alert. "What's wrong?" he asked.

"Something is off," she said quietly. "I'm not sure what." She scanned the surrounding buildings and the park across from them. It was like she could feel eyes watching her, but she couldn't figure out where they were. "I think someone is watching us," she said. Steve was scanning too.

"There," he said, nodding his head subtly toward the park. "I see something."

Of course he had better vision than her – part of the super soldier serum. "What is it? Or who?"

"I'm not sure. He's wearing all black. Should I go after him?" he asked.

She thought for a moment, a little startled that he would be asking her for orders. "It could just be some random person," she said, hesitating.

"What do your instincts tell you?" he asked.

She didn't have a chance to answer that. There was the red dot of a sniper-gun sight, and Steve grabbed Aspen and pulled her to the ground, shielding her with his body. A split second later a bullet lodged itself in the brick wall behind them. "Sniper rifle!" Aspen said. She was speaking to thin air though. Steve had leapt to his feet and taken off after the sniper. Aspen crouched behind her car, watching fearfully as he sped into the park, vaulting the gate. He was fast. She lost sight of him seconds later but then heard another gunshot. She saw someone in black running a moment later and then a flash of blonde as Steve pursued him. Aspen cursed and then ran across the street, slipping through the park gate and heading after them. She was nowhere near as fast, but years of training had built up her stamina. She was a bit out of practice, but she made good time, tearing across the pathway and into the trees where she had last seen them. She ran for ten minutes before she found Steve standing in a clearing, looking around. He whirled around when she entered, relaxing when he saw who it was.

"He disappeared," he said, sounding frustrated.

"Never mind. I'll call it in to SHIELD. They can send someone out after him." Aspen pulled out her phone and called Fury, explaining what had happened. She could tell by his tone that he was not pleased that someone was shooting at Captain America.

"I have a few items of Captain Rogers's that he might be wanting back," Fury told her. "Bring him by SHIELD tomorrow morning. And Tolvar? Be careful. I don't want either of you risking your necks."

"Understood, Sir." She hung up. "He's sending someone out to investigate." Steve nodded, blue eyes clouded with worry. "Fury said he had some things for you. I'm supposed to bring you in tomorrow to get them."

"I'm not sure what he could have," Steve said frowning. "Unless…" he trailed off.

"What?"

"Oh, just an old relic. I'm not sure it would have survived."

"I guess we'll find out."


	21. The Sunflower House

**18 – The Sunflower House – April 23, 2012**

Aspen had nearly forgotten about their dinner date until Steve told her that he'd take a rain check. "No," she'd said. "We've had a rough day. We deserve it. I know a good place. Just let me change into something nicer, and I'll pick you up at five."

Now as she returned to his apartment, she found him waiting outside, dressed in a button-up shirt, brown slacks, and jacket. He'd combed his blonde hair to the side, looking like a soldier straight out of the 1940s. Aspen smiled, climbing out of her car. She'd pulled her red curls up into a neat bun and changed into a plain black dress and heels. She never had occasion to dress up like this, so she'd decided to go all out tonight. Steve's eyes widened when he saw her, and Aspen couldn't help but smile, pushing back the little bit of satisfaction that rose in her.

"You look really nice," he said, stammering a little.

"Thanks, you too." She beamed at him. "Are you ready? I know of a place you're really going to like."

"Alright." He climbed into the passenger side of her car, and she pulled away from the curb. Aspen noticed that Steve was drumming his fingers on his knee as she drove. If she didn't know better, she would say that the super soldier was _nervous_. The thought made a smile break out across her face. Steve looked over at her.

"What?" he asked, narrowing his blue eyes in confusion. The knee tapping paused.

"Are you nervous?" she asked.

"What? Why would you think that?" His eyes had taken on a guarded look and his knee tapping resumed.

Aspen chuckled. "I don't know. You just seem nervous. Don't tell me this is your first dinner date with a girl." She grinned when Steve's cheeks colored slightly. It was such a strange contrast seeing the super soldier who had almost single handedly taken down Hydra in the 1940s blushing and socially awkward.

"I-er-I haven't really had a whole lot of…experience with girls," he stammered. His blue eyes showed his alarm at being caught.

"Relax. This is just dinner between two friends. No need to get nervous. I'm not holding any expectations over your head."

He relaxed slightly and the drumming stopped. He gave her a bashful sidelong glance. "I didn't really…girls didn't really…take much of an interest in me before…" He seemed to struggle to describe why they hadn't taken an interest in him.

"Before you were injected with the Super Soldier Serum," she finished for him feeling a stab of anger toward those girls. So what if Steve had been on the scrawny side. His personality hadn't changed as far as she knew. Nor had the twinkling blue eyes that were always filled with so much life.

"Yeah."

"That's shallow of them," she told him. "Girls like that aren't worth your time."

"Yeah, you're probably right. How about you?" Aspen wasn't quite sure what he was asking. Was he asking her if she would have liked him pre-serum? "I mean, do you have anyone? You mentioned the man who saved your life and brought you to SHIELD." Then she realized he was asking if she had a boyfriend.

"Oh." It was her turn to flush. "No…no. And it's not like that with Clint. We're friends – he's more like an older brother to me. I guess I haven't really had time to date… I'd really rather not date a smuggler or a spy, so that eliminates most of my options."

"That would be tough."

"And I have issues trusting people," she added. "Opening up to someone like that makes me feel vulnerable which is something I never want to feel again." She shut her mouth before she could spill the entire Winter Incident. Like she needed to open up all her ugly mistakes to Steve who was as good as they came.

He had fallen silent, and Aspen tried to think of something to say to break the tension. Then he spoke quietly, hesitantly. "I'm sorry someone hurt you," he said. "I'm not sure exactly what happened, and that's your business, but I promise I'll never betray your trust."

Aspen looked over at him, touched by his words. She hadn't asked for his respect, for his kindness, and yet he gave it so freely. What had she done to deserve that? "Thanks," she said. "I'm not sure I deserve it, but thanks."

"You deserve it." She didn't know what to say to that so they spent the rest of the ride in silence until Aspen pulled into the parking lot of one of her favorite restaurants. It overlooked the Hudson River and had outdoor seating. The weather had warmed up just enough that they would be comfortable outside. As the entered, Steve opened the door for her, and Aspen couldn't help the little smile that lit up her face. Usually the restaurant was booked for months in advance, but a flash of her SHIELD ID (the owner owed Fury a favor – a _big_ favor) they were led to Aspen's favorite table outside. Steve pulled out the chair for her before taking his own seat.

"This is nice," he said.

"I'm glad you like it. I sometimes come here with some of my friends from school. We don't really hang out, but every month we go out to dinner to celebrate passing a test or finishing a big project."

"What do they think you do for a living?" he asked.

"They think I work as a secretary for a private firm. That's basically what I do anymore." She frowned. "I haven't been on a mission in ages, but I suppose that's better because then I don't have to lie so much to them. And well, it's just better that way…" She didn't elaborate.

"That must be tough." He looked down at his menu, and she could tell that his head was buzzing with questions he was too polite to ask.

"I shot a man," Aspen said suddenly. Steve looked up at her in surprise. "I know that seems like that's something that should come with the job, but I'd never killed anyone before." She hardly dared meet his eyes, but there was nothing judgmental in his expression

"You know, when I was trying to get recruited for the army, a man asked me if I wanted to kill Nazis." He paused as if collecting his memories. "I told him that I didn't like bullies no matter where they came from. It wasn't about killing for me. It was about protecting a freedom that some bullies were trying to take away from people who couldn't defend themselves. It was never about killing for me, but I took a few lives, hell, I took a lot of lives. Sometimes I think back on that and wonder if that makes me a killer, but then I think about the lives I saved, the lives_ we _saved. A lot of good men went into that war and a lot of good men didn't come back."

"I can't even imagine," Aspen said. "The man I killed was the head of the organization I used to work for. Turns out he was only ever after something my parents had been working on before they disappeared. After he realized I was starting to get suspicious he tried to have me killed. Clint saved my life, and SHIELD recruited me just like my parents."

"Your parents worked for SHIELD?"

Aspen nodded. "They were two of their top scientists. My aunt worked for SHIELD too until everything went south. When I first came on at SHIELD I helped work to take down ARTIFACT, the organization I had worked for. When it all came to a head, my ex-boss tried to get away with both my parents' work and my aunt. I had a gun and we struggled…the gun went off, and he got a bullet to the chest."

"That sounds like an accident, not your fault."

Aspen closed her eyes. "I know, but I still have nightmares."

"Me too."

Aspen looked up at him, surprised. "Really?"

He nodded. "About the war, about the men I killed, about Bucky falling to his death… You can't go through the things we've been through without some damage."

"I'm sorry you suffer from nightmares too, but I'm glad I'm not alone," Aspen said. "I was always so worried that it made me weak. That a real agent shouldn't have nightmares over killing someone on the job."

"No," Steve told her. "You're not alone, and you're not weak."

Just then the waiter came back to take their orders, and Steve and Aspen realized they hadn't hardly looked at them yet. The waiter gave them a few more minutes and they hurriedly scanned the menu. Steve's eyes widened at the prices.

"Are these prices right?" he asked, lowering his voice so the waiter wouldn't hear.

"Oh right, I forgot to mention price inflation. Just wait until we go to the grocery store. Milk and egg prices are going to knock your socks off." He lifted a brow at her, smiling. "Don't worry about it, just order anything you want. SHIELD pays well, and I don't exactly have a lot of ways to spend my paychecks."

"Usually a gentleman pays when he asks a lady to dinner," Steve told her. "At least in my time."

Aspen smiled sweetly at him. "Things have changed a little. You can treat me next time."

His cheeks flushed a little at her words, and Aspen realized how much she wanted there to be a next time. Luckily the waiter saved them the awkwardness by reappearing at that moment and taking their orders. "So you mentioned that your parents worked for SHIELD but that something bad happened. You said when we first met that they faked their own deaths?"

"Oh, yeah."

"If you don't want to talk about it-" he hurried to say.

"No, it's alright. My parents were working on creating a Superhero Serum, I'm thinking lightly based on the Super Soldier Serum that Dr. Erskine used on you. I read all his work that SHIELD had on file," she added. "They started their work in college, and SHIELD offered them a job. They continued their work at SHIELD's research facility in Portland. Joseph Danners – my ex-boss, caught wind of their research though. He didn't used to be in the smuggling business. I guess he had a reputable military armory business in the 80s. My aunt approached him with a business proposition, and he was introduced to my parents' work which ended up being a huge mistake. By the time my parents realized that he wasn't working for the good of the country, it was too late. They knew he was coming for them and shipped me off to live with my aunt in Phoenix and then faked the explosion at their lab. My aunt kept their secret up until last July when I finally got the truth out of her. My parents hid their tracks well. I've tried tracking them down, but everything has led to a dead end. They did send my aunt a postcard from France once a few years ago letting her know that they were still alive, but I guess the don't want to be found. I had hoped…I had hoped that after Danners's death, they would get in contact, but they didn't."

"I'm sorry. It must be really hard knowing that they're out there but not being able to find them."

"It is. I've been used to having no parents my entire life, but I keep asking myself why they haven't tried to find me yet. Do they not want to know me?"

"I'm sure that's not true. I can't see how anyone wouldn't want to get to know you."

Aspen blushed at his praise. "I have a letter they wrote to me in 1994. I found it several months ago in an antique puzzle box that somehow ended up in SHIELD's item storage. I think they might have left some clues in it."

"What kind of clues?"

"I'm not entirely sure. The letter was pretty vague but then they left me a floppy disk – it's an old way of storing data from computers – but I can't read it on just any computer. It has to be a specific computer. I keep thinking I have to go back to the beginning to where this all started."

"To the Sunflower House?" he asked.

Aspen smiled at the mention of her childhood home. "Yes. They left me the deed to the house. It's like they wanted me to go back."

The waiter returned with their food then and they fell quiet while they ate. A breeze had picked up, and Aspen enjoyed the cool freshness of it as it played across her face, pulling a few of the honey blonde strands loose from her bun. She felt Steve's eyes on her, but when she looked up at him, he looked away with a blush.

Aspen's thoughts had been on what he had said about the war. She remembered reading about him taking the Valkyrie into the Arctic to stop the Hydra bombs from blowing up half the world. She could see it now, see the noble posture in his shoulders and the solemn look in his eyes. He wasn't afraid to make sacrifices.

"I read about what you did," she blurted out. Steve looked up at her. "I mean, I haven't told you how incredible I think it was that you crashed that ship to save the world. You talk about war, and I can only listen. I don't know what it is to sacrifice everything like that, but you were so willing to put down your life."

He looked embarrassed. "When it came down to it, I didn't have a choice. What was one life compared to millions?"

"That's what sets you apart from the rest of the world, Steve Rogers," she told him. "You're always thinking about everyone else before yourself. I guess I haven't met many people like that in my lifetime."

"Sometimes you have to be in a moment like that to realize how far you'd go," he told her.

They finished their dinner in companionable silence after that, and Aspen paid the bill when it arrived even though Steve protested. He opened her car door for her and thanked her for dinner.

"We'll do it again," Aspen said.

"I'd like that."

When she pulled over in front of his apartment, he turned to her and said, "I have something for you. It'll just take me a second to grab it, do you mind coming up?"

"Not at all." She turned off the engine and followed him up to his apartment. He switched on the overhead light and then grabbed something from the kitchen table near the window. He held it close to his chest for a second, looking unsure of himself.

"I wanted to draw this for you," he told her. "After you described it to me." He turned the paper around and held it out to her.

Aspen numbly took it, looking down at the incredibly realistic drawing of her childhood home. The Sunflower House was there, lightly colored in with golden colored pencil. The aspen tree was in the front with the milky white bark and golden yellow trees. There were three people depicted on the porch, a mother, a father, and a little girl holding their hands in between. The little girl had red hair and was undoubtedly her. She was speechless.

"Do you like it?" Steve asked worriedly.

Instead of answering, Aspen set down the drawing and pulled Steve into a hug. Her head only came up to his chest, but she wrapped her hands around him nonetheless. This time he didn't hesitate to hug her back, his chin brushing the top of her head, his strong arms gentle on her back. "Thank you," she said. " I _love_ it." She didn't want to let go, but Steve seemed comfortable with her in his arms. Finally she pulled away when she started to feel a little flustered.

"Thanks again for dinner," Steve told her. "I had a great time."

"Me too." She smiled. "I'll see you tomorrow to pick up whatever it is Fury has for you."

"Oh right, I'd forgotten about that," he said. He walked her to her car and then said, "See you tomorrow. Goodnight, Aspen."

Aspen drove home with a smile that wouldn't seem to fade.


	22. The Shield

**19 – The Shield – April 24, 2012**

Aspen and Steve walked into SHIELD the next morning not quite knowing what to expect. Aspen could tell that Steve was nervous. His brow was furrowed, and his eyes darted around, still a bit unsure of his surroundings. He hadn't spent much time in SHIELD outside of the medical wing. She knew he still didn't quite trust the agency, but she hoped he trusted her enough to know that she would never let SHIELD take advantage of him. She knew they wouldn't do anything to harm him, but she also knew that they were probably eager to get Steve on their side. Captain America was a legend after all.

Steve bumped into her shoulder, and Aspen saw that he was gazing distractedly at a man walking down the hall talking to himself. Aspen caught sight of the Bluetooth and smiled. "It's a phone," she told Steve who looked down at her. "It's a little device that you can put over the top of your ear so you can leave your hands free."

"I suppose next you'll be telling me that books have been replaced with technology too," he said, sounding slightly indignant.

"Erm, it's called an E-reader, so yeah… But books still exist too," she added at the look of alarm on Steve's face. "I guess we need to go over computers one of these days. Everyone uses them. They're kind of like a mixture of an encyclopedia, an atlas, a typewriter, and some other things. The internet is a useful tool." Steve didn't look so sure.

She led him to Fury's office where they found him standing in front of the window gazing out. He turned around when he heard them enter. "Rogers, Tolvar," he greeted.

"Sir," Aspen and Steve said in unison.

"When our people found you, they found something else frozen in the ruins of the Valkyrie," he said to Steve. "Something you might be missing." He nodded to the opposite wall, and Steve and Aspen turned to see what he was talking about.

A round shield rested against the wall. Two red rings circled around a silver star set against navy blue. The rest was some sort of silver metal and shone with uninhibited luster as if it had just been polished and painted. Steve walked toward it like he was greeting an old friend. "May I?" he asked, looking back at Fury who nodded.

"It belongs to you," Fury told him. "It's time I returned it to its rightful owner."

Steve picked up the shield with reverie, examining the outside and then sliding his arm into the straps on the back. Aspen smiled. Suddenly he looked a little less like the out of time Steve Rogers and a little more like the legendary Captain America.

"Welcome back, Captain," Fury said.

"Thank you, sir," Steve said. "Have you found the man who shot at us yesterday?" he asked.

"Not yet." Fury frowned. "I have agents out and several will be watching your apartment – both of your apartments – to make sure something like that doesn't happen again. In the mean time you need to be on your guard."

"We'll be careful," Aspen told him.

"Good. We have something else that you might want to take a look at. Howard Stark invented the prototype but we've improved it a bit. It's outside if you want to take a look."

A motorcycle was parked outside in the lot, and Steve's face lit up when he saw it. He approached it, running a hand over the handlebars.

"You ride a motorcycle?" Aspen asked, impressed.

"I did." He smiled at her. "Now you won't have to drive me everywhere," he told her.

"It was no trouble," Aspen said. Why did she suddenly feel a twinge of sadness at his independence? She was getting used to him relying on her.

"Do you want to go for a ride?" he asked, turning to her suddenly.

"What now?" Fury had wanted her back to work today, but so far he hadn't given her any assignments. She should be working in the lab, but somehow that didn't sound quite so appealing at the moment.

"Why not?" He grabbed the helmet off the handlebars and handed it to her.

"Are you going to ride it with that thing?" she asked, pointing to his shield. He frowned. "Put it in my trunk," she told him, popping it open for him. He stowed it there carefully as if it was made from glass and not whatever material it was actually made of. She strapped the helmet on and climbed onto the bike behind him, wrapping her arms around his middle.

"Ready?" he asked, looking back at her.

"I've never actually ridden on a motorcycle before… You still remember how to drive one, right?"

"It may have been 67 years to you, but for me it was only a week ago." He turned the key and revved the engine. Aspen gripped him a little tighter. He pushed up the kickstand and took off. Aspen had never felt freer. The wind stung her face in a way that made her want to go faster, and Steve certainly hadn't lost any skills at driving. He wove in and out of traffic, keeping expert balance. They kept going until they had left SHIELD headquarters far behind. Aspen wasn't sure where they were going, but at the moment it didn't really matter to her. They rode for what seemed like hours until Steve finally turned around and took her back to SHIELD . When they stopped, he got off first and put his hands on her waist, pulling her down. She unclasped her helmet, swaying a little on unsteady feet. He steadied her, his face shining with a broad smile.

"Wow. That was really fun," Aspen said. She put the helmet back over the bars and looked up at Steve. "Thank you."

"It's my pleasure," he said.

"If you're done with your little ride, Tolvar, perhaps you'd like to get back to work," a voice said behind them. Aspen turned around to see Fury standing there looking a bit impatient. "There's something I need you to look at."

"Sorry, sir. Coming." She turned back to Steve. "Sorry, I've got to go," she said, flustered.

"I'll see you later," he told her. She smiled back at him before following Fury.

"You two seem to be getting along just fine." Aspen wasn't sure she liked the tone Fury used. He seemed to be implying something.

"He's very nice," Aspen said. "I'm just glad I could be of help. What do you need me to look at?" she asked, changing the subject.

Fury looked at her with his good eye as if he knew exactly what she was trying to do. "We've managed to intercept something that was being transported to a very specific location. I think it's something you might take a personal interest in."

"Sir?"

"It was being returned to 1204 E. Walnut Street, Portland, Oregon to an Ava and Gregor Tolvar."

Aspen's heart skipped a beat. "My parents?" she asked weakly. "When was it postmarked?"

"May 2, 1994. It was supposed to go to an address in Indiana that doesn't exist. It must have gotten lost in the mail."

"For ten years?" Aspen asked.

Fury shrugged. "Stranger things have happened."

"Who was it addressed to?"

"You."

Aspen stopped walking. "Me? But I was only four then. How could they have been sending it to me?"

"Who knows why your parents did a lot of things? I do know that they were smart and they knew how to hide their tracks. This package was meant for you and you alone. It's sitting on your desk. I'll leave you to it."

Aspen entered her lab in a daze. A tattered brown package sat on her desk just where Fury said it would be. It was as if she hadn't believed it could be true until she'd set her eyes on it. She approached it slowly as if it could disappear at any minute. She could hardly dare believe that something of her parents had made it through ten years of postal void. She sat down at her desk to read the writing on the package.

_Ava and Gregor Tolvar_

_1204 E. Walnut Street _

_Portland, Oregon 97220_

_Miss Aspen Tolvar_

_4796 N. ABC Way_

_Clause, IN 219-504_

Aspen unwrapped it with trembling fingers. Inside was a box that was both water-stained and battered. She pulled the lid off and looked within. There was a thick layer of shredded newspaper that she had to dig through before she found what her parents had packed for her. She pulled it out, holding it up to the light. It was a layer of white bark from an aspen tree. Something was written on the back in ragged writing.

_Everything you need to guide you is here._

Aspen stared at the writing for a long moment. It made no sense to her. A piece of bark from the tree she'd been named for? This piece of bark wasn't hiding anything so how could it possibly be a clue? Before she could contemplate this further, her phone rang, startling her. She answered it, setting the bark down on her desk.

"Did you open it?" Fury's voice came over the line.

"They send me a piece of aspen bark," she said. "It had a message on the back telling me that everything I needed to guide me was here."

"I'm sure you'll figure it out. In the meantime, I think it's time I told you more about your parents' research and just why SHIELD hired them. Come up to my office." He hung up and Aspen was left wondering what else Fury knew that she didn't. She set the piece of bark back in the box with care before heading up to Fury's office. She was feeling a little nervous, not knowing what to expect.

She knocked when she reached Fury's office and came in at his beckoning sitting before him on the other side of the desk. "What I didn't mention before," Fury started, "was that we've been trying to replicate your parents' serum ever since the explosion, but we can't get it right."

"That's what the Psi-Division was working on," Aspen realized. "Until the Chitauri messed with their work and reversed the effects. I didn't recognize the work as theirs because though they had the same basic idea, they didn't have any of my parents' work to go off of."

"Just the basic idea of it, but they met with a lot of problems. The Superhero Serum is something you parents had been working on for years and years. We don't know if they ever perfected it, but there was something they knew that we don't. You can see why we might want to find a way to give people the power of psychic abilities after what happened. The universe is evolving and if we don't advance with it, we're not going to stand a chance if something like that happens again."

"So you hired my parents to continue their work?"

"Yes. We were aware of their research and approached them with an offer. They were hesitant to accept it at first, such a serum in the wrong hands could be fatal, but we convinced them of our good intentions and they came to work for us. We wanted to keep their research away from other interested parties that might want to use it for ill."

"Like Danners."

"Exactly."

"I think they left me a clue to finding their research," Aspen said after a pause. She felt herself hesitating to say more about her parents' research, but Fury had never given her any reason to doubt him. "I'd like to go to Portland to see if they left anything there," Aspen said. "With your permission of course."

"I think that might be a good idea. I doubt your parents would have hidden anything of value there, but they might have left something to help you pick up their trail." Fury's quick reply surprised her.

"After…after my mistake…I'm surprised you'd let me go that easily."

"I'd like to see a recovery from your…lapse in judgment. You're a good agent and one of the best scientists we have working here. I wasn't going to keep you on probation forever."

"I won't fail again, sir. I've learned a valuable lesson. I have classes until mid-May, but when they're over, that would be a good time to fly to Portland."

"Good." He stood and Aspen took it as a sign of dismissal. "Oh, and Tolvar," he called her back. "If the other agents should continue to bully you, you have my permission to retaliate."

Aspen grinned. "Thank you, sir."

…

When Aspen braked hard for a red light and heard something clank in her trunk, she realized she still had Steve's shield. She turned onto his street to return it, parking across at the curb and popping the trunk. Several children were out playing on the sidewalk. Aspen self-consciously pulled the shield out of her trunk, trying to be as unobtrusive as possible. She shrugged off her jacket and tried to cover the shield with it. The fact that the shield was half her size did not help. The bright red and blue was also a little obvious as it peeked out around the jacket. The kids looked up when she crossed the street, eyes alighting on the shield.

"Cool!" one of the boy said. "It's Captain America's shield."

Aspen stopped. "Who?" Were they aware that the real Captain America was living right next door?

"You know, from the comics. I have some of his trading cards too."

"Oh, right. The superhero."

"Is that his shield? Why do you have it?"

"Oh, no, this is just a…costume. My friend is borrowing it for a costume party."

"Oh, cool. Is it heavy?"

"Not too bad." It was surprisingly light for its size, but she supposed the metal was supposed to be easy to carry around for long periods of time. "I'd better give it to him." She entered the apartment building, running into the door once while trying to get the shield in. She stopped at his apartment door and knocked, holding onto the shield with her right hand. There was a pause and then Steve opened the door, looking surprised to see her. Then his eyes slid to his shield and he smiled. "I'd forgotten I'd left that in your car," he said. "Until I got home and realized something was missing."

"Yeah, me too. Sorry." She handed it to him, and as he took it, she could see the superhero side to him again.

"Do you want to come in?" he asked.

"Sure." Aspen came in and he shut the door behind her. The apartment had a slightly more lived in feel to it with his drawing pad out on the coffee table and his leather jacket over one of the kitchen chairs. He set the shield down, leaning it up against the wall.

"Some boys down the street saw me carrying it up here, so I told them you were borrowing it for a costume party. Secret identity safe."

"Yeah, I'd rather stay Steve Rogers for now," he said. "Would you like anything to drink?" he asked politely.

"I'm fine." She looked down at the sketch he had been working on. It was of a woman. It was only half finished, but she could see the detail and care he was putting into it. Short, wavy hair framed an intelligent face. She wore a military jacket, and Aspen wondered if Steve had known her during the war. "This is beautiful," she said. "Who is she if you don't mind me asking?"

"Her name is Peggy. She was an officer in my regiment."

"A female officer back then? That must have been rare."

"It was. She knew how to handle herself though." Aspen could hear the pride in his voice.

"You were close?" she asked.

"We didn't really get a chance," Steve said. Aspen sat down and he sat next to her, looking sad again. "We actually had a date, but I missed it. I overslept a little." He smiled at his joke, but it didn't reach his eyes.

"I'm sorry." Aspen knew the words weren't enough, but Steve looked thankful for her sympathy anyway.

"It's just tough not knowing what could have been. Or maybe it's even harder thinking about what could have been and now isn't possible."

"I'm not sure I buy the whole everything happens for a reason spiel, but don't think that was your only chance. I know this isn't the life you had chosen, but you do still have your life before you. I bet she would want you to be happy."

"She would." They were silent for a moment, and then Steve said. "I was thinking about going into the gym tomorrow to practice on the punching bags. I don't know if you needed any training time, but you're welcome to join me."

"I could probably let off some steam. What time would you want to meet there?"

"Seven too early?"

"Sounds perfect. See you tomorrow then."

"Tomorrow." She got up, and he walked her to the door. "Thanks for returning my shield," he said. She turned back to look at him.

"Well," she told him. "You never know when you're going to need it."

"Hopefully no time soon."

"Hopefully not." They fell silent. "Well, goodnight."

"Goodnight." He watched until she was out of sight. As she stepped out onto the street, she became aware of the two agents who were keeping an eye on his apartment. To anyone else's eyes, they looked like they belonged there, but Aspen could pick them out in a heartbeat. One of them gave her a slight nod before going back to his patrolling. Aspen got into her car and drove home wondering who the mysterious shooter had been. Another question that had been bothering her was who had the shooter been aiming for? Everyone assumed it had been Steve, but the target could have just as easily been her.


	23. Another Puzzle

**20 – Another Puzzle – April 25, 2012**

Aspen met Steve at seven as planned. She had decided to practice archery – Clint had been trying to train her, but she would never be close to as good as him. She was eager to see Steve in action too. She could only imagine what he could do to a punching bag when he put his energy and muscles into it. Aspen was small, but she was strong too, just not that strong. Hand-to-hand combat wasn't her strength. She was better at shooting from the shadows and taking her enemies by surprise. When they reached the gym, Steve tied his hands in cloth to protect them from the punching bag. Aspen set down her gear and watched as he hung a sandbag from the ceiling. He looked a little self-conscious, and Aspen wondered if she should leave him, but then he started punching, and she could only stand and watch. She could see the emotions behind the energy and force in each blow. It was like he was letting out all the anger and fear and sorrow he'd felt in the last week. A particularly powerful punch sent the sandbag flying across the room where it hit the wall and broke open, pouring sand out on the floor. Steve looked mildly surprised. He seemed to remember himself and turned to Aspen.

"That felt good," he said with a shy smile.

"I usually let out steam by shooting at something, but somehow that looks more satisfying. I'm not sure I could manage that though." She motioned to the sandbag still leaking sand onto the floor.

"Yeah…I didn't mean to do that." He grabbed another sandbag and lifted it up to the hook like it weighed nothing. "If you want to get started, I'm going to go a few more rounds and then I'll come watch you shoot."

"Deal." Aspen grabbed her bow and quiver and headed down the hall to the shooting range. She flicked on the lights and strung her bow, notching an arrow and aiming toward the target on the other side of the room. During her years at ARTIFACT, she had been taught that being a master at weapons was the best way to be a good smuggler. After joining SHIELD though, Clint taught her that it wasn't always necessary to be good with every weapon; it was more a matter of being good at one _particular_ weapon. Though he had shown her how to use the specialized targeting arrows he used, she had decided in the end that the dart gun was her weapon. It was small and felt right in her hands. It didn't give her the option for taking down someone permanently, and she liked that. Also, the bow was kind of Clint's thing, and she didn't want to steal his thunder.

But she did like to practice with a traditional recurve bow. It was more relaxing than target practice with a gun, and it required skill that went beyond having a device that locked in on the target. As she notched an arrow, she gave herself a split second to let her muscle reflexes find the bull's-eye. When she released, the arrow twanged before striking the outside of the inner golden circle. She released several rounds of arrows before going to retrieve them. She shot another round, all the arrows in a tight cluster around the edge of the bull's eye. As she relaxed her bow after shooting last arrow, she heard someone behind her.

"Wow, you're really good." Steve must have come in while she was concentrating on shooting. She smiled.

"Thanks. It took a lot of practice, but I find that shooting archery relaxes me. I tend not to use a bow on missions." Aspen shot for another twenty minutes before stowing her arrows away in her quiver. "I feel better now," she said.

"Me too."

They washed up in the separate locker rooms and then headed upstairs. Aspen needed to finish up a project in her lab, and Steve offered to keep her company.

"If you don't mind," he said, looking hesitant.

"Of course not. It's just this boring report on weather patterns. Ever since this winter…well, Fury's been watching for unusual weather patterns so we don't have a repeat."

Steve nodded, though she could tell he had no idea what she was talking about. She wasn't quite ready to talk about that. It didn't hurt so much anymore, but it was something she wasn't proud of. Steve was so noble and good, she didn't want to display her flaws to him. She knew he wouldn't judge her, but she would judge herself.

"Hey, Tolvar, brought home any aliens lately?" The jab was expected. Aspen turned to face the agent who had called out at her. He was from the Psi-Division and had made it very clear in the last few months that he thought she was at fault for what had happened to him. She recognized him as one of the agents who had been injected with the mind-control drug. "You do know that SHIELD stands for 'Strategic Homeland _Intervention_' or did you think intervention meant inviting hostiles into top secret bases?"

Aspen felt Steve tense behind her. "Leave her alone," he said. Aspen remembered his words about not liking bullies.

The agent turned his eyes to Steve. "I don't see you out there in action," he accused.

Aspen clenched her fist. "Don't start on him," she growled.

The agent looked amused. "You two are perfect for each other. Washed up, old soldier and washed up, naïve-" He didn't get the rest of his words out. Aspen's fist shot out and nailed him squarely on the jaw. He stumbled back a step, putting a hand to his jaw and looking shocked.

"Come on." Aspen grabbed Steve's arm and dragged him away from the scene. He followed after her, looking a little astonished. When they were safely down the hall, Aspen let go of his arm.

"Wow," Steve said. She looked back to see that his blue eyes were appraising.

"He was asking for it," she said shortly.

"I don't think he'll be picking a fight with you anytime soon," Steve said with a grin.

Aspen felt herself grinning back. "He did look a little shocked." Steve chuckled and Aspen found herself laughing too. "That felt really good."

"You know, I used to get bullied a lot before…before the serum," Steve told. "I never ran away. I took quite a few beatings though. That's part of the reason I dislike bullies so much."

Aspen looked over at him. "No one would dare pick on you now. Well, except that idiot. Thanks for defending me. You didn't have to do that."

"Yes I did." He smiled at her. "We make a pretty good team."

Aspen smiled, pulling out her pass card to unlock her lab. Steve looked around with wide eyes. "This is…impressive," he said. "It reminds me a little of Howard Stark's lab when I was undergoing the process."

"Howard Stark?" The name was often mentioned around SHIELD but she hadn't ever looked into who he was. She remembered Fury mentioning that Stark had built the prototype for Steve's motorcycle.

"He was an inventor during my time. He invented the equipment used in the process. He was a good man. He's probably gone now…"

"The only Stark I know of is a Tony Stark. He's an inventor too. Lives in Los Angeles or something. He's pretty well known for having built this suit that, at least in his eyes, makes him a superhero."

"A suit like armor?"

"Yeah, something like that. I saw some news coverage on him. I think he shut down some terrorist cell in the Middle East. He seems a little full of himself to me." She sat down at her desk and motioned Steve to take a seat next to her.

Aspen was still feeling high strung after having punched the agent. She felt oddly satisfied especially since she'd had Fury's permission to dole out punishment. Maybe that was a sign that Fury was starting to forgive her.

Steve was staring around at all her gadgets like he was completely out of his time. She could tell that he was itching to ask her what things were, but he held back.

"You can ask me about anything in here," Aspen told him.

"What is that?" he asked, indicating a machine on the far right wall.

"Oh, that reads for traces of elements. I use it to analyze objects that come in if we don't know if they have dangerous chemical residue or if we just don't know what it is."

He asked about a few more instruments, and she tried to explain in non-scientific terms. She'd been called a geek in high school because she knew the proper name for all of the tools in chemistry class. She'd been shocked to learn that not everyone _did_ know what they were. What surprised her even more was that they didn't care. She could tell that Steve really wanted to know about the Winter Incident, but he never once brought it up. He respected that Aspen would tell him when she was ready, and that meant more to her than she could say. When Clint wasn't on a mission, everyone had kept their mouths shut. They knew how much he cared about Aspen and wouldn't test that by jabbing at her in his presence. She missed Clint more than she could say, but having Steve as company had alleviated some of that loneliness.

"I might have found something to help me track my parents," Aspen said after a moment when Steve's questions had ceased.

"That's great," he said. "Are you going to follow it?"

"I plan to. Fury gave his permission. I'm going to wait until I'm done with this semester at school, and then I'm flying into Portland. I'm going home."

"To the Sunflower House?"

"If it still exists... My aunt said she had no idea. My parents did leave me the deed, but with it having sat abandoned for so long... This was intercepted somehow. I have no idea how it ended up lost in the mail for ten years or what it even means." She handed him the package she had received.

"It's addressed to you. Have you ever lived in Indiana?"

"No. That address doesn't even exist."

Steve pulled out the piece of bark. "Everything you need is here." He turned the bark over. "It's aspen bark. Like your name. From the tree in your yard?"

"Maybe... That just seems so fantastical. Would they have really hidden a clue there? There's no guarantee the tree would even still be there. It could have rotted and been torn down or been hit by a car or struck by lightning."

"Is there any other aspen tree you can think of? Anything significant from your childhood home?"

"I don't remember enough to be honest. I was only three."

"Maybe when you go there, you'll know exactly what you're looking for when you see it."

"I hope so. This game is getting old. I just want to know the truth. I just want my parents back..."

Steve handed her back the bark. "You'll find them," he said confidently.

"How do you know that?" Aspen asked dejectedly, turning the piece of bark over in her hands.

"Because you don't seem like the type to give up," he told her.

"I'm not. I just wonder if I should move on with my life."

"Maybe this is the beginning. You just weren't meant to find this until now."

"I just wish I knew what they wanted me to do." Steve had a pensive look on his face, frowning down at the address on the brown paper that had wrapped the box. "Do you see something?" Aspen asked.

"I'm just wondering why they'd address it to somewhere that doesn't exist in Indiana. Wouldn't there be a risk of it falling into the wrong hands? I mean, no one would have any idea what it was talking about, but there would also be no way for it to get to you."

"What if it did end up somewhere in Indiana for that time?" Aspen looked down at the address again. "Maybe there's some secret place that the postal service wasn't aware of."

"Would SHIELD have checked that out?" Steve asked.

Aspen frowned. "I guess you're right."

"What if it's not an address?" he asked. He pointed to the beginning of the address. "What if those are coordinates? Just put a dot in between the 47 and the 96 and you get 47.96 degrees North. Sometimes in the army, we'd have to decode encrypted coordinates."

"And then ABC could stand for 123 using a numerical decoder where each letter stands for a number! 123 degrees West instead of Way." Aspen looked excitedly up at Steve. "You're a genuis!" His ears colored a little at her praise. She ran her finger over the city and state name. "So they're coordinates. What about the other information?"

"That I'm not sure about." They leaned over the address together, shoulders brushing as they wracked their brains. "Could it stand for something else?"

"I can Google it," Aspen said. Steve threw her a confused look. "Search for it. Here. Let me show you," she said, struggling to explain. She opened the internet on her computer. "It's like a digital encyclopedia. You can learn just about anything." She typed Clause, Indiana into the search bar. Steve watched in wonderment as the results came up. "Claus, Indiana exists, so why add the extra letter?" Aspen asked.

"A mistake?"

"No, they were too meticulous for that. They must have added it for a reason. But why?"

"I'm not sure. I wish I had the answer," he told her, looking down at her.

"I wish I did too. Let me search the coordinates." She typed them into Google. "It's somewhere in Washington just outside of Everett." She frowned.

"Does that mean anything to you?"

She shook her head. "Maybe there's more to the puzzle." She unlocked and opened the bottom drawer of her desk, pulling out the puzzle box. "I found this when I was going through some stuff that we took from the agency I used to work for. It belonged to my parents. I'm not sure how my old boss got his hands on it." Her fingers worked to slide the panels in the box until it opened. She pulled out the floppy disk and the letter. "This is the floppy disk I was telling you about. It stores data, but it's really old. Well, from the 90s. And then at the bottom of their letter there's this formula," she said. "At first I thought it was something to do with the Superhero Serum, but the more I look at it, the less I think that. I think they might have been working on something else." She thought back to her resilience to the Chitauri's mind-control and her ability to see their true forms. "I think they might have injected me with one of their experiments," she said. "Given me a sort of protection."

"Protection?"

"Like something biological. I've fought off mind-control drugs before. I was the only one it didn't seem to effect. It hurt like hell, like my body was trying to protect itself. This formula doesn't look like something to affect the neurological system but rather something for the bloodstream and immune system. I was going to take a blood sample in the lab tomorrow at school and see if I can come up with anything. I'm going to use it as a class project. We're supposed to research something unique to our bodies and come up with a blood sample if possible. I figure I can kill two birds with one stone and maybe find out something more about this formula and myself."

"Sounds pretty in depth."

"Yeah. This whole thing is over the top. I just hate having some of the pieces but not knowing what I'm trying to put together or if the pieces even go to the same puzzle."

"Whatever help I can give, I'd be happy to," Steve told her, sitting back and crossing his arms over his chest. Aspen noticed that he did this when he was either uncomfortable or nervous. More than once he seemed to be responding to her own distress.

"That means a lot to me. Well, I'd better get a little work done. I have school tomorrow, so I'll come in again next weekend. You're welcome to stay if you want, but I don't blame you if you want to head out."

"I don't have anything else to do," he said, looking a little helpless.

"Then I'd be glad of the company." Aspen finished up her analysis of several objects that had come in the other day and set them up to be catalogued. It was nearly five when she was finished. Steve had conversed politely with her and had even found his way to the cantina to get them lunch halfway through the day. "I just have to take these down to storage," she said. Ever since the Chitauri attack she had an unreasonable fear of going down there. It wasn't that she expected a Chitauri to jump out and attack her. It was more the emotions and fears that it kindled.

Steve followed her down, looking curiously around when they reached the storage area. "Wow," he said. "That's a lot of stuff."

"No kidding." Aspen found the correct aisle and stowed away the items. "I don't really like it down here."

"It's a little...tight." The rows of shelves were fairly narrow and they towered to the ceilings giving Aspen vertigo if she looked up. "When I was smaller, everything looked bigger to me, but now everything seems smaller."

"That would take some getting used to. I've never liked tight spaces. I don't like feeling trapped."

"Me neither." They started walking back toward the entrance.

"It's filled with so many objects. All this knowledge locked away. It feels sad and unused."

"Why does SHIELD keep it?"

She shrugged. "Because it's better than it falling into the wrong hands. I've found in my experience though that it's all a matter of opinion whether something is in the right or wrong hands. People think they're doing the right thing when they're really messing with the way of the world." Her thoughts flitted to Loki. "Sometimes you think something is good and it turns out to be just the opposite."

She wasn't sure if Steve picked up on the fact that she was no longer talking about SHIELD.

"People are complex," he told her. "Good and bad isn't always black and white."

"It's the bits of grey that mess me up," Aspen said with a humorless laugh. "It's the not knowing whether or not you've made a mistake trusting someone."

Steven's glance was sharp. "We all make mistakes," he told her, voice soft. "It's whether or not we get back up and face them that determines whether it really was a mistake or not."

Aspen contemplated his words. "I like that way of looking at it," she said. "I just wish my mistakes weren't so obviously mistakes."


	24. The Enemy at Hand

**21 – The Enemy at Hand – April 29, 2012**

Aspen stayed late that week at school working on her research. Every time she dipped into one of the mysteries surrounding her parents and her research, she felt as if she got further and further from the truth of it. Now as she analyzed her blood comparing it to the formula she'd found in the puzzle box, she thought she was onto a small breakthrough. She'd had a lot of support from Professor Stew who'd been very interested in her research. He was her Advanced Astrophysics and Advanced Quantum Chemistry professor this semester and had given her all the support and resources she needed. He even loaned her the chemistry lab key after hours when she wanted to finish a project.

Now Aspen wrote out the formula based on her findings, checking the liquid she was heating over the Bunsen burner. As the liquid reached a light lavender color, Aspen reduced the heat and carefully poured the liquid into a glass vial, stopping it. She smiled down at her work. Now all that was left was to test it. She wasn't entirely sure how she was going to do that since she already had whatever ability the serum gave you, but she thought someone in the Psi-Division might be willing to give it a try after what had happened to them. She'd followed the formula carefully so it was safe, it was just a matter of whether or not it lent immunity to whomever was injected with it. If successful, this would be something she could present to SHIELD as means of keeping the agents from ever being compromised again - at least their minds.

She tucked her work in a folder and shut the vial in a small padded case she had brought for such a purpose. She cleaned up her work, shutting the light and locking the door of the chemistry lab before leaving. She dropped the key off in Professor Stew's office and headed out to her car. She was so preoccupied with her success that she didn't hear the men following her until someone grabbed her from behind. Another hand reached out to snatch the case and her research. Aspen's training and instincts kicked in. She threw herself and the man backwards into the brick wall of the science building. He grunted and loosened his grip on her. Aspen ripped his arm in the wrong direction, and he cried out in pain, letting go of her completely. The other man swung an arm at her, but she ducked, striking out with her legs and knocking him to the ground. He groaned and Aspen took advantage of the distraction, grabbing for the case. The other man was already reaching for it as well. He shouldered her out of the way, knocking her to the ground, and grabbed the case. He ran, leaving his accomplice to keep Aspen from following.

The accomplice got to his feet, grabbing her arm as she tried to follow the man who had taken off with her research. She slammed her elbow back into his chest and then punched out with her other hand, nailing him in the nose. He reeled backward, nose gushing blood.

"Hey!" Aspen looked up to see Steve running toward her. She didn't take the time to wonder what he was doing there.

"Not him," Aspen called, running toward him and leaving the bleeding man behind. "The other man - he has my work." She caught up to Steve and he changed his course, following after the man. The man with her work threw himself into the passenger's seat of a black car. The car took off before the door shut. Steve stopped short.

"Quick." He nodded to his motorcycle. Aspen leapt on behind him, strapping the helmet on. Steve revved the engine and took off after the car, wheels screeching a little as he sped after the car. Aspen clung onto his waist, heart beating frantically. Her research could _not_ fall into the wrong hands. How had they known what she was doing? She thought back to the man in black who had shot at them. Maybe he had been after Steve after all. Steve was a potential threat to them, but that had been before Aspen had started her research, and very few people knew that Captain America was back. It just didn't seem like the two events could be unrelated. Clearly someone had been watching her and had become aware of her research.

Steve wove in and out of traffic with unparalleled skill, keeping the black car in sight. He narrowly beat the amber light, turning sharply to keep up with the car. The driver of the black car was weaving in and out of traffic as well causing people to honk and some to slam on their brakes. Steve managed the traffic with more ease, able to weave in and out of narrow spaces. Aspen started calculating shortcuts to head him off. As the car turned left, Aspen squeezed Steve's arm and pointed left down an alley. He got the message, swerving down the narrow alleyway. They came out on the other side, turning right and then left again. Now they were straight behind the car. Aspen peered around Steve's broad shoulder at the car. She saw the window rolling down.

"Watch out!" she shouted.

Gunshots sounded, and Steve ducked. Aspen could hear the bullet whiz past her ear. Now that she had completed her research, it didn't matter if she was dead, she supposed. Steve drove right, out of firing range. The city started to melt into a more rural setting, and Aspen realized where they were heading. An airfield lay ahead, and she would bet everything that they were headed there.

"Hurry!" she called out to Steve, leaning close to his ear. He nodded to show he'd heard, pressing the bike faster. They started to gain on the car. Suddenly another hand reached out with a gun. The driver was shooting at them now. Steve swerved to avoid the bullets that were haphazardly fired back at them. Aspen could see a helicopter up ahead. They weren't going to make it. Steve was losing ground trying to avoid the bullets. As the car reached the small private airport, it began to slow, and the passenger jumped out, black case in hand. A helicopter was already waiting, propeller flashing overhead. Steve made to drive after the man, but the driver opened fire, and he had to swerve hard. The man was halfway to the helicopter now.

"I'm getting off," Aspen told Steve.

"What?" he asked, looking alarmed.

"Just slow the bike a little. And don't get shot." He did as she instructed, and she leapt off, rolling to her feet and setting off at a full run. She heard a bullet whiz past her, but then the sound of the motorcycle cut out, and she looked back to see that Steve had leapt at the man, disarming him and sending him reeling back. He blocked a punch and managed to knock the man flat on his back. Clearly his hand-to-hand combat skills were just as impressive as his skills on the motorcycle. She couldn't wait to see him with his shield. She looked back at the man she was chasing just in enough time to duck as he fired a shot at her. It missed by inches and she cursed herself for getting distracted. He had reached the helicopter by now and jumped in as it started to rise. Aspen put on a burst of speed, but the helicopter was above her head now. The force of the propeller tugged at her, flattening the grass around her feet. She watched helplessly as it took off with her research and serum. Natasha or Clint could have taken that helicopter down. They could have got her research back, but they weren't here, and Aspen would never be as good as them. Steve had done what he could, but Aspen had never meant to drag him into all this.

She stood watching until she heard someone come up behind her. She whirled around, but it was just Steve looking dejected. "I'm sorry," he said. "What did they take?"

"My research. I developed the immunity serum. They took it all."

Steve shook his head. "If I had my shield, maybe I could have stopped him. If I-"

"No. You did everything you could do. I wouldn't have made it this far without you. What happened to the driver?"

"He's unconscious," Steve said.

"We need to question him." She started back to the car. The man lay on the ground, still out cold. Aspen grabbed the front of his shirt and slapped him hard. He woke with a start, looking up at Aspen with wide eyes. "Who the hell are you?" she asked. Steve hovered behind her, arms crossed over his chest, eyes narrowed in worry.

The man gave her a twisted grin. "What does it matter?" he asked. "You've lost."

"Who do you work for?"

He laughed. "Why should I tell you?"

"I know people who can make you talk and I can promise you, it won't be pleasant. You'd be better off talking to me." He chuckled, and the sound of it infuriated Aspen. She punched him in the face. He coughed hard, blood flowing from a cut in his lip from his fight with Steve.

"Aspen," Steve said, his voice low with warning. Aspen ignored him.

"Tell me who you work for!" she shouted.

"Never. Your parents' work is long gone."

"What do you know about my parents' work?" Aspen felt a prickle of interest coupled with fear.

The man just laughed. Aspen felt her anger level rising. Would people keep trying to kill her over her parents' work? She was still learning secrets so why was it this stranger seemed to know all about them? Aspen's hand reached out for the gun the man had dropped a few feet away. She pointed it at his head. "Tell me," she growled.

"Aspen," Steve said her name again.

"Tell me," she said, forcing her voice to remain calm.

The man smiled cruelly but did not reply. Aspen pushed back the hammer, pressing the tip of the gun to the man's temple.

"Aspen, think about what you're doing," Steve told her. Aspen took a deep breath, her hand shaking. She felt Steve kneel next to her, reaching out a hand and gently taking the gun from her. She let him. He squeezed her shoulder before standing.

"I'm sure we can get you to talk," she told the man. "The people I work for can be very persuasive. You'll be wishing you talked to me instead."

He chuckled. "I have nothing to say to your people." He seemed to chew on something in his mouth and then started to convulse, froth building up in his mouth. Aspen scrambled away from him.

"What's happening?" she asked Steve frantically as the man shook on the ground.

"Cyanide tablet," Steve said, his voice a little unsteady. "I've seen it before."

The man stopped writhing, his eyes wide open and reflecting the blue sky. She stared down at him for a long time. "That means that whoever he works for, whoever now has my research, is someone bad."

"You did what you could," Steve told her.

"No, it was stupid of me to have ever taken my research outside of SHIELD. I just wanted to fill in my lab hours. I just wanted to feel like I was doing something for myself and not SHIELD. And now I've just handed a weapon to the enemy. That research is the groundwork for what my parents were developing."

"It wasn't your fault," Steve stressed. "You had no idea."

"The sniper – he might have been working with them," she said, looking down at the man.

"Why would he shoot at you if he wanted your research?" Steve asked, furrowing his brow.

"I think he was aiming at you. He saw you as a threat. It's a lot easier to steal something when the bodyguard has been taken out. But what I don't get is that he shot at us before I'd even started my research… I'd only told a couple of people about my idea." She bit her lip.

"He thought I was your bodyguard?" A smile turned up the corner of Steve's mouth.

"Possibly. Either that or the thought of Captain America on the loose was just too much for him."

"I'm not sure many people even remember me," he said.

"Don't underestimate yourself." She sighed, looking back down at the dead man. "If I tell Fury about this, he is so going to fire me. I'm still in his bad graces since...since this winter." She stumbled over her words, feeling guilty for not having told Steve about it yet. It was just something she wasn't ready to talk about. It had been torture enough informing Fury that she'd taken in and lost a demi-god from another universe. She could still see the pulse beating in his temple as she explained her rather large oversight of not telling SHIELD all of this.

"He won't fire you. You didn't know this was going to happen. Besides, you may work for SHIELD, but this was your own project, not theirs."

"Maybe I can get it back."

"You don't know where they're going."

"Not quite true," Aspen said, pulling out her phone. "The case the formula was in had a tracking device built into it where they'll never find it. I can check my phone to see where they're headed."

Steve looked impressed. "Are you going after them now?"

"If I can get it back before Fury finds out, then no harm done. I can't let this fall into the wrong hands. I'm sure more than ever now that this is related to the Superhero Serum my parents were working on."

"Then I'm coming," Steve told her.

"What?" Aspen looked up at him, surprised.

"I'm not letting you go by yourself," he told her. "It will be dangerous."

"I know it will, but I'm not dragging you into this mess."

"You're not dragging me anywhere. I want to go."

Aspen thought about it for a minute. She could use the help, and she could see where Steve might be an extremely useful asset to her. "Alright," she said. "I would be glad of the help."

"How do we follow?"

"We borrow a jet from SHIELD."

"You know how to fly a jet?" he asked, sounding impressed.

"Well, no, but how hard can it be?" she said with a frown. She wished she had Clint here. He could fly one, and she knew he'd come with her once he got done trying to convince her not to go. "I can get Fury's permission to take the weekend off. I might be able to pull a few strings and get a pilot for the jet. I'm not sure."

"Let's get back to SHIELD and find out." Steve righted his bike, casting a glance at the dead man. "What should we do about him?" he asked.

"I'll phone it in later." She climbed onto the motorcycle behind Steve, holding onto his waist. The leather of his jacket was smooth against her skin, and she picked up on a sandalwood scent that seemed to cling to him. Probably the soap he was using. Aspen shook the thought from her head. She had more pressing matters than guessing what kind of soap Steve Rogers used.

When they reached SHIELD, Aspen immediately knew something was wrong as soon as they entered the doors. Agents were running to and fro shouting out orders. "What's going on?" Steve asked.

Aspen frowned. "I don't know. Let's find Fury." They took the elevator up to his office, but it was empty.

"If you're looking for Fury, he's in New Mexico," a woman's voice came from the door. Aspen recognized one of the higher-level agents whom she'd crossed paths with several times. "We have a full-blown catastrophe on our hands. The Santa Fe headquarters is gone."

"What do you mean gone?" Aspen asked.

"We're not sure," she said. "I haven't been told yet." Aspen could tell how much this frustrated her. "All I know is that the building completely collapsed upon itself. They managed to evacuate, but there were casualties. I've got to go deal with this on our end."

She left them, and Aspen turned to Steve. "I wish I-" She stopped as her phone rang. She glanced down at the number. It was blocked. "Hello?" she answered cautiously.

"Aspen? This is Natasha," the redheaded agent's voice came over the line. The line itself was filled with static as if reception wasn't good where she was.

"Natasha? What's going on? Do you know? I just heard that the Santa Fe headquarters is gone, caved in or something."

"Aspen, Clint's been compromised," Natasha said.

Aspen stopped breathing. "What do you mean 'compromised'?" she asked, voice quavering.

"His mind has been taken over. He's working against us now." Aspen could hear the worry in Natasha's voice. The redheaded assassin had been friends with Clint for a long time.

"Who did this?" Aspen whispered.

"He's called Loki," Natasha said. "And he's declared war on our world."


	25. A Voice From the Past

**22 – A Voice From the Past – May 1, 2012**

"I'm on my way to find someone. Fury's gathering some people," Natasha continued. "Just sit tight. We're going to get him back."

"I can't just sit there. I need to help."

"Fury's headed back to the New York headquarters tomorrow," Natasha said. "Don't do anything rash, Aspen."

"Like get to Santa Fe as soon as possible?" she asked, voice practically a growl. Her initial shock over Loki having returned had turned into an anger that was about to turn nasty.

"They're not there anymore. We're not sure where they are," Natasha told her. "I've got to go, Aspen. Just promise me you won't do anything rash."

"I promise," Aspen said after a pause. "Be safe, Natasha."

"You too." The assassin hung up and Aspen turned to Steve who had been listening to the one-side of the conversation he could hear with confusion and worry on his face.

"What's happening?" he asked.

Aspen took a deep breath. "Someone from my past has turned up again. He's taken over Clint's mind - my friend - and he's taken out the Santa Fe, New Mexico headquarters."

"Who is this guy?"

"He's a trickster," Aspen said. "And a liar." Her mind was reeling. "Fury will be back tomorrow. I need to talk to him. Right now I just want to go home."

Steve nodded, and they walked down to his motorcycle in silence. He dropped her off at her apartment, but as soon as Aspen got off the bike, she felt the weight of what she had just learned crash over her. "Wait," she said though he hadn't made any move to leave. His brow was furrowed in worry. "I don't want to be alone right now," she said.

"I could come in for awhile."

"Could I stay at your place tonight?" she asked in a rush. "My apartment just…it holds too many memories right now. I don't think I could sleep there. I'm sorry." She felt like a child asking this, but Steve's eyes were filled with concern and he nodded.

"Of course," he said. "You're more than welcome to."

"I'll just grab some things." Aspen ran upstairs, packing an overnight bag with all possible speed. She couldn't stand being in her apartment right now. The memories were taunting her. She locked the door behind her and got back on the motorcycle. Steve drove them to his apartment, unlocking the door and flicking on the lights. Aspen set her bag down on his couch before flopping down next to it. Steve hovered for a moment, looking unsure of what to do.

"Is there anything I can do?" he finally asked.

"A cup of tea would be soothing," Aspen said, suddenly feeling shy. "I'm sorry for imposing."

"It's no trouble, really," he told her. "You take the bed, I'll sleep on the couch."

"I couldn't."

"It's fine. I insist." He smiled at her, filling the kettle with water and turning on the stove. "Are you going to be alright?" he asked, sitting beside her.

"I don't know," Aspen replied truthfully. "Clint means everything to me and Loki…" She stopped there. "Let's just say we have some history…bad history. He betrayed my trust. Let's leave it at that." She knew the truth would come out eventually, but she wasn't ready to tell him everything just yet.

"Do you have any idea what he's after?" Steve asked.

"He wants somewhere to rule," Aspen said. "His own father practically disowned him and his brother took over the throne. Deep inside he just wants acceptance, but it comes out in anger and jealousy." She sighed. "I'm not sure how far he's willing to go, and that's what scares me the most."

"Sometimes the greatest villains in history started out as people desperate for acceptance," Steve said. "I saw first hand the destruction it could cause."

"Of course." Aspen looked over at him. Sometimes she forgot that he was from another era. She was so used to his company by now, but there was no mistaking the little insecurities that still lingered as he tried to settle in a world that had run away without him. "You've lived through so much. I've only read about the war in history books, but you lived it."

"Waking up and finding out that the war was over was like a ceasefire, not a victory for me. I keep waiting for it to start again."

"I'm afraid," Aspen admitted. "Somehow I feel like this is my fault."

"How could it possibly be your fault?" Steve said, looking at her sharply. "You didn't start this."

"No, but I could have ended it. I didn't tell SHIELD about Loki – the trickster – when he first came to Earth. I see now what a huge mistake that was."

"You didn't know that this would happen."

The kettle started to whistle, and Steve rose, pulling two mugs out of the cupboard and dropping tea bags in both. He poured the steaming water over them and then came back to sit by her.

"This isn't your fault," he insisted again.

"I hope you're right," Aspen said, pulling her knees up to her chest.

…

It was strange sleeping in the unfamiliar bed. She felt bad that Steve was sleeping on the couch, but she couldn't deny that she felt much safer with him in the other room. Aspen tossed and turned for about an hour before she finally sat up and noticed the light under the door. Steve was still up too. She got out of bed and crept over to the door, opening it and peering out. Steve was sitting at the kitchen table, head rested in his hand while he looked over a file. Aspen crept forward, not wanting to startle him. The SHIELD insignia was stamped on the folder. Aspen caught sight of a file with a black and white picture of a beautiful and familiar looking woman. She realized it was the woman Steve had been drawing, the one he'd known during his time. He was holding a piece of paper in his other hand with the name Peggy Carter and a phone number written on it.

He became aware of her and turned his head around. "Sorry, I couldn't sleep," Aspen said, hovering in the hall.

"Come sit," Steve offered, pushing out the chair for her. She padded over and took a seat, drawing her pajama-clad legs up to her chest.

"Are you going to call her?" Aspen asked.

"I don't know." Steve set the paper down.

"She's beautiful," Aspen said. "Were you in love with her?"

"I don't know." Steve ran a hand through his already tousled hair. "I didn't really get the chance to find out."

"I'm sorry." Aspen reached out a hand and touched his. When she moved to pull it away, he grabbed it gently, holding it in his big hand.

"It just seems so surreal. She would be in her nineties now. I was told she married and has children. She's lived her life. Mine was taken from me." His tone was bitter.

"What happened to you is unfair – at least the bit where you lost the life you had – but you still have a life. You could have died then and there and missed everything, but now you're here and you have a second chance. It might not be the chance you wanted, but she would want you to be happy. I don't know her, but I know that's what she'd want."

"She'd like you," Steve said, his eyes meeting hers. "You're a lot alike, you know."

"Oh?"

"Spunky, stubborn, always fighting for what you believe in."

Aspen couldn't help but smile at this. "She sounds amazing," she said. "I doubt I'm half that incredible."

"You are," Steve told her. Aspen searched his eyes. They were wide and honest, even bluer it seemed as he looked at her tonight.

"Thanks," she said with a smile. "You're pretty incredible yourself." She withdrew her hand from his. "I'm going to try to get some sleep. You should call her. If not right now, soon. She'd want to hear from you."

"I'll think about it."

"Your life is going to have meaning again, trust me. It might not seem like it now, but you're going to find something in this lifetime that makes you happy." She stood and started back to the bedroom.

"I think I already have," Steve said, his words soft behind her.

…

When Aspen awoke, the day before came thundering back into her mind before she even got the chance to stretch. She dressed quickly, running her fingers through her messy hair. Steve was already up, standing at the window. He looked up when she entered the room. "Breakfast?" he asked.

"No time. We need to meet Fury at SHIELD headquarters."

"You need to eat something, Aspen," Steve reminded her. "Besides, he might not even be there yet."

Aspen realized how famished she was. "Alright. One bowl of cereal," she conceded.

When they arrived at SHIELD, Aspen was frustrated to learn that Fury had not yet arrived. He was expected 'soon' was all anyone would tell her. Her frustration was growing. It had been a whole day since Clint had been taken by Loki. She needed answers now.

"I need to shoot something, or I'm going to explode." She told Steve after waiting twenty minutes in Fury's office. She got to her feet and headed down to the shooting range. Steve followed, keeping his distance. She could feel the worry rolling off of him, but she was too upset to speak. She grabbed a gun from the lockup and started shooting at the target. Steve left her alone, shrugging off his jacket and hooking up one of the punching bags. Aspen kept shooting until she'd used up all the bullets in the gun. She felt like crying to be honest, but she hardened herself, settling for reloading her gun and taking aim again. Before she could shoot, she heard someone's voice outside the shooting range. Fury. He spoke to Steve, and she listened to the soldier's stilted conversation back.

"Trying to get me back in the world?" Steve asked between punches.

"Trying to save it," Fury replied. There was a pause and then he said, "Hydra's secret weapon. Howard Stark fished that out of the ocean when he was looking for you. He thought what we think, the Tesseract could be the key to unlimited sustainable energy. That's something the world sorely needs." He must have been showing Steve a file. Aspen frowned. She'd never heard of the Tesseract before.

"Who took it from you?"

Aspen tensed as Fury replied. "He's called Loki. He's not from around here. There's a lot we'll have to bring you up to speed on if you're in. The world has gotten even stranger than you already know."

"At this point, I doubt anything would surprise me," Steve said.

"Ten bucks says you're wrong. There's a debriefing package waiting for you back at your apartment. We leave first thing tomorrow. Is there anything you can tell us about the Tesseract that we ought to know now?" Fury asked.

"You should have left it in the ocean," Steve said stiffly.

Aspen took that moment to enter the room. Fury glanced at her. "Tolvar," he said.

"I want in too," she said.

"This is a mission I think you should sit out," Fury told her sternly.

"Clint's been compromised. I'm not sitting this one out."

"You're too personally attached to this one, and frankly, I'm not sure I trust you where Loki is concerned."

Aspen flushed at his words, and Steve looked between them, brow furrowed in consternation. "With all due respect, sir, that's exactly what makes me perfect for this mission. I know more about him than anyone in SHIELD. I know how his mind works."

"This is not a discussion, Tolvar. I have made my decision, and you're going to stay here."

"You can't keep me-"

"Do you really want to tell me what I can and cannot do?" Fury asked, tone deadly. "I don't have the time to argue with you. This conversation is over."

He turned to leave. Aspen wanted to argue, but she knew it would do no good. "Hey," Steve said, coming up beside her. "I'm sorry. I'll do everything I can to help your friend. I guess I should go look at the debriefing packet," he said awkwardly, eyeing her as if he didn't quite know how to handle her at the moment. She didn't blame him. She wouldn't want to deal with her right now.

"I should get home," she said stiffly.

"When I'm done with this mission, I'll still come with you to get your formula back," he promised. Aspen looked up at him, surprised. She had forgotten all about her formula until then. She was tempted to highjack a jet right then and there. "Don't do anything rash," he told her, repeating Natasha's words. "I don't want to see you get hurt. Right now you're upset. That's not a good time to be making decisions. Go home and get some rest. You've had a long day."

Aspen felt herself deflate a little at his words. "You're right," she said. "I need to calm down."

"I'll see you when I get back, alright?" he said, catching her eye. His own blue ones were filled with worry. Aspen felt a little less panicked under his gaze. If anyone could get Clint back and take down Loki, it was Steve.

"Alright," she said.

"I'll take you home." Aspen realized her car was parked back on campus. She followed Steve out of SHIELD, climbing up behind him on the motorcycle. He walked her to her door where she turned to wish him luck. Instead of speaking, she pulled him into a hug.

"Stay safe," she whispered. "I couldn't stand it if I lost another friend."

"You're not going to lose any friends," he told her, holding her tightly. "I promise."

Aspen shut her eyes, trying to push back the panic she felt. Clint was like a brother to her. If anything happened to him...or Steve. She couldn't handle it. And that Loki was behind it all… This was so complicated that she didn't know how to feel.

"Is there anything I should know about this Loki before going into this?" Steve asked when they finally pulled apart.

Aspen took a deep breath. "Don't trust him no matter what," she said. "Because whatever comes out of his mouth is going to be a lie."

"I understand if you don't want to talk about it," Steve said, "but what did he do to you?"

Aspen shut her eyes against the pain and anger and embarrassment that welled up. "We spent some time together this winter," she told him after taking a deep breath. "I sort of...took him in when he somehow got tossed onto Earth from wherever he came from. I had this cuff that cut off his powers – he's a trickster, a demi-god, don't underestimate him because he doesn't look like a warrior. He's cunning and manipulative. I never really trusted him, but I let my guard down. He pretended that he cared about me." She stopped there, feeling ashamed. "But it was a lie. He betrayed me in the end. He was working with these creatures that came from another planet, well, at least he joined them before he left. They infiltrated SHIELD. I don't think he was behind that, but he doesn't have good intentions whatever they are." She didn't dare look at Steve. "You must think me so naive. I put my trust in the wrong person. I did trust him to an extent no matter how much I try to deny it."

"I think that you have a good heart, Aspen," Steve told her. "And there's nothing wrong with that."

Aspen looked up at him in surprise. "But if I had turned him in to SHIELD like I was supposed to, this wouldn't be happening."

"Maybe, or maybe he would have taken down the New York headquarters. Don't you think he'd be able to if he did that in New Mexico?"

"Perhaps."

"I think you need to stop blaming yourself and find a little forgiveness. We all make mistakes, but having too much heart isn't one."

Aspen didn't know what to say. Tears were welling up in her eyes to her embarrassment. "Thank you," she said. "I've spent so long hurting over this, hating myself for being so weak..."

"You're anything but weak," he said. "You managed to trick him after all," he added. "With the cuff. I don't suppose you have it still?" he asked with a frown.

"I do actually."

"That might come in handy."

"I'll get it." Aspen unlocked her door and led him to the drawer she'd been keeping it in. She pulled it out and handed it over. "Good luck," she said.

"I'll see you when this is over," he promised.

"You'd better." Aspen hesitated and then reached up on tiptoe to kiss his cheek. His skin flushed at her touch, and he stammered a goodbye.

Aspen watched him drive away from her window. She felt helpless, pacing around the floor for an hour before finally sitting down on her loveseat. Her phone suddenly buzzed to life from where it sat on the coffee table, startling her. She picked it up and looked down at the screen. Her heart skipped a beat when she read the name.

'Clint calling.'

She answered with a shaking hand. "Clint?"

"Loki has a message for you," Clint's voice came on over the line. There was something off about it. There was no emotion in his words. When another voice spoke into the phone, Aspen nearly dropped it.

"Did you miss me?" came a silky voice that Aspen had never wanted to hear again.

"Loki..."

"I do hope so," he continued, "because we'll be seeing each other very soon."

"Where are you? What did you do to Clint? If you hurt him, I swear to God-"

"I am a god," Loki said fiercely. "And I'll do as I please to your friend. He's been quite useful so far."

"Why are you doing this?"

"Because your pathetic little world needs someone to lead it."

"And you think that's you?"

"I know it's me. I was denied my right to the throne of Asgard, so now I'm taking my place here."

"The people won't follow you," Aspen said with a dry laugh.

"Won't they?"

"No."

"Then I will offer a persuasion," he said. "I have an army at my call. No one will resist me one they see my might."

"Your overconfidence will be your undoing, Loki."

"And your sentiment will be yours."

"I wasn't the only one who felt something, and you know it," she said.

Loki's laughter filled the line. "You actually believed that I had feelings for you? For a mortal human? I thought you were smarter than that."

"I saw the sentiment in your eyes when you spoke about your family. Your mother..."

"I have no family," Loki hissed.

"Only because you push them away."

"I'm not going to discuss family troubles with you," he told her. "I have better things to do."

"If you harm Clint..."

"Don't worry. I won't harm him. Yet. His usefulness hasn't run its course yet."

"Put him back on."

"He can't hear you. He's in another world right now. A better world."

"Put him on," Aspen growled.

"Fine, try to persuade him. I hope to see you soon."

"Clint?" Aspen asked after the line went quiet for a moment. "Clint?" She heard breathing on the other end and then a click as he hung up. Aspen screamed in frustration, throwing her phone across the room. It crashed against the wall, the screen cracking and fading out. Then she realized her phone had been her only chance at tracking her serum. Not that that mattered right now. She sat down on the floor, her emotions overwhelming her. After a few minutes of sitting there, she rubbed her tears away, standing. She was not going to just sit here and do nothing while Clint was out there in danger. While the world was in danger. She didn't know where Fury was sending Steve, but there was one way to find out. Aspen quickly showered and changed into a set of dark clothes, strapping herself into a thin bullet-proof vest and donning her black cap. She strapped her belt around her waist, filling it with every weapon she could fit.

She walked to Steve's apartment, seeing that the lights were still on in his living room. She sat down in the shadows and waited. It was only two hours after the lights went out that she moved from her position and picked the front door lock on the apartment building. She took the stairs up to his floor and carefully inserted her lock picks. She would have simply asked to see the plans, but she knew he would try to stop her from going. She was emotionally charged right now and that wasn't the safest way to be when she was going into something dangerous like this. She didn't care though. She wasn't sitting this one out. It was time she got back into the field and stopped acting like a coward. Lives were at stake.

The lock clicked ever so slightly, and she held her breath, waiting for any sign of movement in the apartment. Everything was quiet. She slipped in, shutting the door silently behind her. The debriefing packet lay open on the kitchen table. Aspen read through the papers quickly by the light of the moon, taking note of the Quinjet that would take Steve Rogers and Agent Phil Coulson to the SHIELD Helicarrier. Aspen needed to get on that jet. She memorized the jet's number. She flipped the page over and saw a photograph of a square object that glowed blue. Tesseract it was labeled. She stared down at the familiar blue light that it emitted and everything began to click into place. The Hydra weapons had derived their power from this object. The Chitauri's staffs as well. This was the unknown element that had given her so much grief. And she had been right; it didn't come from this planet, from this universe. And now Loki had it.

The words 'Avengers Initiative' caught Aspen's attention, and she frowned down at the file. It looked as if Fury was trying to get together a group of people including Steve, Clint, and Natasha, but right now that wasn't her concern. She replaced the papers the way they had been before. All was still silent when she crept out, relocking the door as she went. She took a cab to SHIELD headquarters, getting out several blocks away and walking. She found her way to the plane hangars. Her ID card gave her access, and she slipped into the hangar, finding the right Quinjet and surveying it. She found that some of the heavy plastic containers storing gear were large enough for her to fit in. She _hated_ tight spaces, but there was no other way she was going to make it to the Helicarrier. The location of that had not been revealed in the debriefing. The flight was due to leave at 7am sharp, so she had a long wait. It was 1:15am according to her watch. She settled down next to the plastic container she'd made room in and waited.

She heard the first signs of life at 6:15am. She had drifted off, head lolling back against the side of the jet. She quickly scrambled into the container. It was going to be a _very_ long ride. She shut her eyes and tried to pretend she wasn't shut in a container that was too small for her to stretch her legs out.

She heard familiar voices and assumed it must be close to seven. She could make out Agent Coulson's voice, sounding a little more excited than usual. The heavy footfalls must belong to Steve. Aspen could hardly breathe. She'd left the tiniest crack in the lid, inserting one of her lock picks. It was risky, but she didn't want to suffocate. The engine kicked in a few minutes later and the jet moved into action. It picked up speed until Aspen could feel them leave the ground.

She had done it. She was in.


	26. Part Four: The War

**Author's Note: **Commence Part Four! Alright, I promised a hint about the sequel story for each new chapter I post. I just planned out all my hints, and I don't even know which one to tell you first! They're all so exciting!

**Hint #1: **Most of the sequel will deal with Aspen following her parents' trail/research. Steve will be with her the entire time.

Enjoy! I'm so excited about everything that I'm going to post the next chapter right after this one with another hint. Happy reading!

* * *

**Part Four: The War**

**Prologue – May 1, 2012**

"You have heart."

The moment the scepter touched his chest his world went into sharp effect. Everything was brighter, everything held more color. It was like looking into a kaleidoscope when everything was standing still. His limbs felt heavy though. His mind felt even heavier. The dark-haired man told him to do something, and he obeyed without question. Something deep inside of him screamed to do the opposite, to rebel, but that part of him couldn't seem to break out of the prison it had been locked in.

The dark-haired man was saying something about freedom. "Freedom is life's great lie," he said. "Once you accept that, in your heart...you will know peace."

He did feel peace. It was as if a burden had been lifted. He no longer had to worry about his actions, his thoughts. He would be told what to do, and he would follow. It was so much simpler that way.

"Sir, Director Fury is stalling," he told the dark-haired man. The portal in the middle of the room was flashing out blue lightning, crackling with uncontained power. "This place is about to blow, drop a hundred feet of raw material. He means to bury us."

The dark-haired man looked at him wordlessly. Clint Barton raised his gun and shot Nick Fury without blinking. The director fell to the ground, and Barton strode forward, the dark-haired man at his side. He grabbed the case that Fury had been trying to take with him, passing it over to Doctor Selvig. They made their way out of the building and toward the parking lot.

Agent Maria Hill was walking toward them as they reached the SHIELD vehicles. "Need these vehicles," he said, nodding to the dark-haired man and the other men.

"Who's that?" Hill asked, narrowing her eyes in suspicion.

"He didn't tell me." The words sounded a bit odd. Why would he be doing something for someone he didn't even know? The thought left his head a moment later as he climbed into the vehicle.

Just then the woman's radio buzzed to life. "Hill, do you copy?" Director Fury's voice came over the line. Barton froze. "Barton is..." He didn't wait to hear the rest of the words. He fired at Agent Hill, and she rolled out of the way, firing back. He climbed behind the wheel, the dark-haired man getting into the back of the truck, and flattened gas pedal after starting the engine. They tore down the tunnel that led out of the compound. Agent Hill was in pursuit. Barton concentrated on driving. They needed to get the Tesseract away from SHIELD before the energy still inside the headquarters leveled it. Something deep inside tugged at him, but the pressure on his mind fought it back. A heavy blankness took over his mind, and he gave into it, unable to resist.


	27. A Touch of Sentiment

**Author's Note:**Here we go! Aspen gets her confrontation with Loki and we get to see some of the Avengers.

**Hint #2: **The sequel will be written from both Aspen and Steve's point of view.

* * *

**23 – A Touch of Sentiment – May 3, 2012**

The flight took longer than Aspen cared to remember. She picked up bits and pieces of conversation, but she kept her eyes shut, trying not to think about the walls of the container pressing in around her. The occasional sound of Steve's soft voice soothed her, and the thought of Clint under Loki's spell kept her going. The thought of seeing Loki again frightened her. Not because she was afraid of him, but she was afraid of how she was going to feel around him. She was afraid she was still going to feel _something_ when all she should feel was anger. She didn't hate him though. She'd seen too much of the real him, too much of his sorrow and hurt to only focus on his downfalls. He struck out whenever he got too close to being weak in his own eyes. If she spoke to him though, asked him to reconsider this insane plan of his…would he listen?

When the Quinjet finally touched down on what Aspen assumed was the Helicarrier, she let out a sigh of relief. She waited until the voices faded and peeked out of her container. No one was currently on the jet. She got out of the container, making sure her hat was pulled low over her face and jamming a pair of shades she had brought onto her face. She slipped out of the jet, trying to blend in. She caught sight of Steve and another man she didn't recognize. A redheaded woman was also present, and Aspen recognized Natasha. The three exchanged some words, the man she didn't recognize looking very uncomfortable. Steve looked nonplussed, and Aspen wished she could reassure him. Instead she stood in the shadows and watched. The engines started up and Steve and the other man walked over to the side of the Helicarrier. Aspen smiled at the look on Steve's face. He was still getting used to modern technology. She turned and headed inside as Helicarrier started to lift. She needed to find somewhere to stay out of Fury's radar. Once they were in the air, he couldn't really do anything about her being there. Hopefully he wouldn't be angry enough to toss her overboard…

She found a storage area where she could stay without arousing suspicion and sat down, back against the wall, and waited. This time the wait wasn't so bad. She could breathe and stretch out her legs. That was something at least, but the oppressive silence was something else. With no one to talk to, her mind couldn't be distracted from her incessant worry about Clint. She had no idea where he was, no idea if he was even alive. She felt helpless – a feeling she _hated_. She'd spent a lot of her life feeling helpless, and she was tired of it.

The Helicarrier traveled east for a long time. Aspen managed to nod off for awhile, but her mind was on high alert and footfalls outside in the corridor startled her awake. She got quickly to her feet and opened the door a crack. To her surprise, Steve was walking straight towards her. Aspen waited until he was level with her and grabbed his arm, pulling him into the room. He started, whirling around to face her.

His eyes widened when he saw it was her. "Aspen? What are you doing here?" He looked torn between relief and frustration.

"I couldn't just sit and do nothing. Loki contacted me through Clint. I heard his voice, Steve. I heard Clint's voice, and he sounded so different. I have to help him."

"We're going to. _I'm_ going to. You just need to sit tight."

"I can't do that and you know it."

"Fury won't let you get involved."

"What's he going to do at this point? Toss me overboard?" Aspen asked.

Steve hesitated, blue eyes pensive. Then he said, "We know where Loki is."

"What? Where?"

"Stuttgart, Germany."

"That's where we're headed?"

"Yeah. They asked me to suit up. I'm going down to face him."

"You're facing Loki?" Aspen asked. "Alone?"

"I can handle him," Steve sounded calmly confident.

"I can talk to him. I might be able to make him see sense before this gets too far," Aspen told him.

"I don't think that's a good idea," Steve told her. "He's already manipulated you once. I don't want to see him do it again. I don't want to see you get hurt."

"I won't get hurt. Not this time."

Steve's eyes searched hers. "Fury won't allow it."

"What he doesn't know won't kill him. I'm not asking."

"I know." He gave her a wry smile. "I wasn't trying to stop you."

…

They entered the locker room where his gear was being kept. The Captain America uniform was hung neatly on the wall, the shield above it. Aspen watched from the doorway as Steve approached it. He cautiously reached out and touched the star on the front of the uniform. "I didn't think I'd be wearing this so soon," he said.

"None of us thought something like this was going to happen. I'm not sure any of us feel ready for this – whatever _this_ is."

Steve turned to look at her. "You don't have to do this, you know," he said. "You're not a soldier."

"Are we fighting a war?"

"Fury seems to think so."

"I might not be a soldier, but a wise man once told me that he never ran from a fight, and I don't mean to either."

A smile spread over Steve's face. "Fair enough," he said.

"I'll wait outside," Aspen told him. She slipped out of the room and paced the hall nervously until the door opened and Steve, no, Captain America, stepped out of the room. Aspen stopped short in her pacing, mouth opening. "Wow," she said. "You look…different."

Steve shuffled his feet uncomfortably. "I know it's a little much."

"No, you look amazing," she assured him. "You look like a hero. Not that you didn't before," she hastened to add. "You're more than a suit and a shield, I know that."

The discomfort in his eyes faded a little at her words. "I appreciate that. You know, my first job after I became Captain America was selling war bonds."

Aspen lifted an eyebrow. "Really? How did that happen?"

"It was either that or become a science experiment. You can see why I chose the former."

"Of course. You're a human being, not a science experiment." She frowned. "The serum was the experiment, but that doesn't translate over to you just because you experienced its effects."

"I didn't mean to imply…I mean, I know you're a scientist, but I would never think…" he tripped over his words.

"I know what you mean," she said. "We should get going. They'll be waiting for you." She pushed the shades back over her face and motioned for Steve to lead the way. He still looked a bit flustered, but led her to where the jet was waiting to carry him down to Loki. Aspen wondered what on earth the demi-god was doing in Stuttgart, Germany and why he hadn't hidden himself better. Then it hit her. He wanted to be found. Loki was a master of disguise and deceit. If he didn't want to be found, he would be invisible. The fact that they'd found him so easily indicated that he _did_ want to be found. Why did it feel like walking into a trap?

As she entered the jet, she noticed that Natasha was second in command at the head of the aircraft. Aspen quickly took a seat next to Steve, hoping that Natasha wouldn't recognize her. She wasn't sure what the redheaded agent would do, but she wasn't taking chances. She was going to be on this flight even if it killed her. Confronting Loki might just do that. Steve cast her a worried glance, but she gave him a tight smile to show that she was alright. She could see a shade of worry in his eyes that didn't fade – clearly he was nervous about his first mission as Captain America since he'd crashed the Valkyrie into the Arctic. Aspen was feeling nervous too. This would be the first time she'd seen Loki since he'd left her at the factory. She didn't know what she was going to say, didn't know if he would listen or even care. If she hadn't seen the look in his eyes when he spoke about his family, then she could have easily believed that he had no humanity within him. But she _had_ seen it. That tiny flicker of emotion that told her he really did care though he masked it with layers of hostility and indifference. She could try to appeal to that side, but then again it was the loss of the Asgardian throne that had driven Loki here to find a new throne. It was his anger toward his family that had driven him to want the power that he was now trying to exert.

"We've got a visual," Natasha told them front he co-pilot's seat. She glanced back at Aspen, frowning. "And a stowaway it would seem." Aspen started. "What, you thought I wouldn't recognize you behind those shades? I'm not a spy for nothing, you know. Fury know you're here?"

"If he did, I wouldn't be here." Aspen pulled off her shades, setting them aside. "I want to help," she told Natasha. "Let me speak to Loki."

"What's your connection to him?" Natasha asked, narrowing her eyes.

"We have history."

"I heard about you keeping him at your place this winter. There's more to the story than that though."

"I might be able to appeal to his humanity."

"He has humanity?" Natasha asked. "That's good news."

"We'll see. We didn't part on the best of terms."

"Well he's down their causing panic right now."

Aspen couldn't see from where she was sitting, but her heartbeat quickened. "What's he doing?" she asked.

"He has a group of civilians surrounded," Natasha said, turning back to the window of the jet. "He's everywhere."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean there's more than one of him."

"He's a trickster. I assume that's what he does. I'll know the real him." Perhaps if she was immune to the Chitauri's shape-shifting trick, she would be immune to Loki's tricks.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Natasha asked.

"I have to try," Aspen said. "I'm the one who didn't turn him in to SHIELD before. I feel responsible for this."

"I'll be right behind you," Steve told her.

"Is Clint here?" Aspen asked Natasha.

"We think so. Someone took down the guards to get into the museum. Someone with Clint's skill and a bow."

Aspen was beginning to have trouble breathing. She wanted off the jet. It felt too much like she was trapped. She wanted to jump out and save Clint and take down Loki but she was also terrified. She was terrified that she was wrong about Loki, that she'd be proving what a human fool she had been. She didn't need him to tell her that she had been a fool, but she knew not everything had been a lie.

"You're up," Natasha said as the jet lowered at the edge of the crowd.

Aspen stood, readying herself. She felt Steve take her hand and squeeze it. She looked down at him. "Good luck," he said, looking forlorn. "I'll be right behind you."

Aspen could only nod in response. Her throat seemed to have closed up. The door opened, and she gave Natasha a brief nod before leaping down. It wasn't a long drop, but she felt the jolt radiate up her legs.

"KNEEL!" she heard Loki's voice shout from ahead. To her dismay, the people around he began to kneel. She edged her way around the crowd until she could see the real Loki. He wore the same garb he'd worn when she'd met him, but the golden helmet with two horns that circled forward from the back was new as was the staff he held. It was a long and elegant rod with a glowing blue orb at the head. She would recognize that energy anywhere. It came from the Tesseract, the very item he'd stolen from SHIELD. As everyone around her got to their knees, Aspen made her way toward Loki. He didn't seem to be aware of her yet. He looked around at the kneeling people, and then her eyes met hers. Whatever flashed behind them was such a mixture of emotions that Aspen couldn't read them before he closed himself off to her. A smile grew on his face, and he opened his arms.

"You came," he said, his voice soft but with an unmistakable malice. "As you can see, I've already succeeded."

"You think you shout at these people to kneel and they become yours to rule?" Aspen asked. "They're frightened of you, of course they knelt."

"But you aren't?"

"I've seen the real you. I know your past. I understand you."

"_You_ understand _me_?" he asked with a laugh. "I hardly think a week in my presence constitutes knowing me."

"What are you doing here, Loki? Why all this destruction?" She swallowed hard when she saw the wreckage of a cop car on the street behind him. "You have no right to cause such destruction."

"I am the _only _one who has the right. I hold the power of knowledge, the knowledge of the universe. I will show these people true freedom, true peace."

"It doesn't work that way, Loki. We aren't mindless sheep. I thought I proved that to you."

He gave her a penetrating glance. "Are you going to continue to defy me?" he asked.

"If you continue this madness, then yes, I will defy you," she told him. "I'm not afraid of you."

"You should be." He raised his staff, and the blue energy glowed brightly. Loki strode forward toward her, and people shuffled to get out of the way, their eyes wide with fear. Aspen stood her ground, meeting Loki's gaze defiantly. He didn't stop until he stood right before her. His blue eyes were cold as they surveyed her, and Aspen shivered involuntarily as she remembered December. "I have ways of controlling those who resist me."

"I will never let you control me," Aspen said.

"Is not this simpler?" he asked. "Is this not your natural state?" he addressed the crowd. "It's the unspoken truth of humanity, that you crave subjugation. The bright lure of freedom diminishes your life's joy in a mad scramble for power, for identity. You were made to be ruled. In the end, you will always kneel."

"Not to men like you," a man said. Aspen turned her head to see who had spoken. An older man was getting to his feet.

"There are no men like me," Loki said with a smile.

"There are always men like you," the man said. He met Aspen's eyes and gave her a small nod. She nodded back.

"Look to your elder, people. Let him be an example." He raised his scepter.

"What? No!" Aspen grabbed Loki's wrist. He thrust her aside, and the blue energy began to glow. Just as a beam shot out at the man, someone landed hard in front of Loki, holding out a shield. The beam rebounded off the shield and knocked Loki back to the ground. Steve stood, holding out his spangled shield. He was wearing his Captain America helmet now, and Aspen couldn't repress the swell of pride at seeing him.

"You know, the last time I was in Germany and saw a man standing above everybody else, we ended up disagreeing," he said, striding forward. More people were rising behind him now, daring to defy the fallen demi-god. Aspen got to her feet and stood a little behind Steve.

Loki stood, brushing himself off. "The soldier," he said, his words scathing. "A man out of time."

"I'm not the one who's out of time," Steve said.

Above them the Quinjet aimed its machine gun at Loki. "Loki, drop the weapon and stand down," Natasha's voice resounded down to them. Instead of responding, Loki sent a surge of blue light at the jet. Natasha pulled aside just in time, and Steve threw his shield at Loki. Aspen stood helplessly watching as the two began to fight. She could tell that in many senses they were equally skilled, but where Loki depended on his tricks, Steve depended on his strength and agility. Loki knocked him down several times, and Aspen had to hold back from jumping in. At one point, Loki deflected Steve's shield, sending it skidding to the ground. He sent Steve to the ground and brought the end of the scepter to Steve's helmeted head.

"Kneel," he commanded.

"Not today." Steve managed to knock Loki aside with a kick to his legs, but Loki was quick to grab him and flip him onto the ground.

"Loki, stop this!" Aspen shouted, hoping to distract him so that Steve could move in. Instead he strode toward her, grabbing her by the throat.

"This has only just begun," he told her, a mad gleam in his eyes. She scrabbled against his hand, and he let her fall. She crumpled to the ground, her ankle twisting painfully.

"Hey!" Steve was on his feet again and was about to throw himself at Loki.

Suddenly AC/DC blared out over the jet's speakers. Aspen looked up to see a red object zooming down. "What the hell?" Both Loki and Steve had ceased their fighting to look up. It was a metal man, Aspen realized. He raised a hand and fired a blast at Loki, knocking the demi-god to the ground. There was a metallic 'clank' as Iron Man landed right next to Aspen. A line of guns emerged along his armor.

"Your move reindeer games," he said, his voice slightly robotic under the facemask.

Aspen felt a little aghast. This was turning into quite the little gathering of heroes. To her surprise, Loki raised his hands in surrender.

"Good move," Iron Man said.

"Mr. Stark," Steve said politely.

"Captain."

Just like that the battle was over. Aspen got to her feet, stumbling over to Steve who was looking concerned. She sent a glare at Loki who gave her the barest hint of a smile.

"Rousing speech," Tony Stark said, turning to Aspen.

"You heard that?" she asked, horrified.

"I had Jarvis get a visual and audio of everything going on down here so I knew what I was flying into. Did you actually think he would fall for it or were you just playing for time? And more importantly, how the hell do you know Loki?"

"Now is not the time," Steve said, taking Aspen's arm. His tone was protective, and Aspen looked up at him in surprise. He was glaring at Tony. She squeezed his arm to let him know she appreciated it before walking straight toward Loki and grabbing his arm roughly. His staff lay on the ground, and Steve picked it up, holding it like it might burn him.

"Come on," Aspen said to Loki.

"Are you going to cuff me again?" he asked, looking down at her with an amused expression.

"Not unless I have to," she said. He didn't resist as she walked him to the Quinjet. The people parted like waves, trying to stay as far away from Loki as possible. "See what you've done?" she asked in a hiss. "They're terrified of you." That only seemed to make Loki smile wider. "Is that what you want? I thought it was acceptance. Why else would you have done so much to win your father's favor?"

"Wow, this gets more and more interesting by the minute," Tony said. He'd flipped up the mask, and Aspen could see his face now. She didn't appreciate the amusement in his deep brown eyes. She sent him a glare.

"I don't see how that's any of your concern," she said curtly.

"You're the one making public announcements," he said, holding his hands up defensively.

"Let's just get out of here," Steve said, coming up behind them.

They entered the jet, and Aspen shoved Loki into a seat and strapping him in.

"Now might be a good time for that cuff," she said to Steve. Loki watched the exchange, a smile playing on his lips.

"I don't think you'll find it so easy to cut off my powers now," he said.

"We'll see," Aspen said as Steve handed her the cuff. She snapped it around Loki's right wrist. It was much more satisfying this time yet somehow the amusement on his face depleted some of that satisfaction. He didn't look concerned in the least. She sat across from him next to where Steve was standing. He gave her a look of concern, his helmet now off and his blonde hair ruffled.

"Are you okay?" he asked quietly.

Loki looked between the two of them with veiled interest. "Yeah, I'm alright," Aspen said. She was feeling battered and bruised from being tossed around by Loki, but she had bigger concerns right now. Something wasn't right. Loki had allowed himself to be captured much too quickly. He didn't look particularly upset about being captured or even having the cuff to take his powers clasped around his wrist. There was more to his plan, and Aspen got the bad feeling that they were inadvertently following it. She said nothing of this aloud, but stared back at Loki. The demi-god met her gaze unblinkingly. Steve moved to the back of the jet to speak with Tony.

The sound of thunder roused her, and she looked out the front window. The sky flashed with lightning. She shivered. She'd always hated thunderstorms though she knew it was a somewhat irrational fear. She was surprised to see that Loki looked concerned too. "Where's this coming from?" Natasha asked from the cockpit.

"What's the matter? Scared of a little lightning?" Steve asked Loki, picking up on his discomfort.

"I'm not overly fond of what follows," the demi-god answered.

Something heavy hit the top of the jet a moment later, rocking it slightly. Aspen looked up, alarmed. "What was that?" she asked. Loki had tensed.

Before anyone had the chance to guess, Tony strode forward, opening the ramp at the end of the jet. "What are you doing?" Steve asked.

At that moment a tall, muscular man dropped onto the ramp. He had blonde hair, a red cape, and a huge, very familiar looking hammer. That was all Aspen managed to glimpse before he sent Tony flying backwards into Steve with his hammer. He grabbed Loki by the throat and disappeared, taking the demi-god with him.

"Did he just fly away?" Aspen asked. "And that hammer – was that _Thor_?"

Tony and Steve exchanged a glance, looking as shocked as her. They got to their feet. "Thor?" Steve asked.

"The god of thunder? Norse mythology? He's Loki's half-brother and apparently not particularly pleased with him either."

"What are you friends with _all_ the Norse gods?" Tony asked.

Aspen and Steve threw him a glare.

"We need to get Loki back. Without him, we have no chance of finding the cube," Tony said, sliding his helmet shut and heading to the open ramp.

"Stark, we need a plan of attack!" Steve called after him.

"I have a plan," Tony said. "Attack." With that he flew out of the jet.

Aspen rolled her eyes. "Thor is an ally to SHIELD, but I don't suppose that matters to him. Good grief, where does this guy come from?" she asked, referring to Tony. Steve cast her a sympathetic glance.

"I'm going after them," he said, grabbing a parachute.

"I'd sit this one out, Cap," Natasha threw over her shoulder.

"I don't see how I can," Steve returned, putting his helmet back on and strapping himself into the parachute.

"These guys come from legends; they're basically gods."

"There's only one God, ma'am, and I'm pretty sure he doesn't dress like that." He looked back at Aspen.

"I'm coming too." She grabbed a parachute.

"No, you stay here," he told her. "Let me handle this. I don't want to see you get hurt again."

Aspen opened her mouth to object, but Steve had already walked past her. In a moment he jumped overboard. Aspen set down the parachute, feeling useless.

"Leave it to the heroes," Natasha said, casting her a smile. Aspen gave her a weak smile in return.

"If Fury expects us all to get along, he's crazy," Aspen said. "Because there is no way I'm warming up to Stark."


	28. A Gathering of Heroes

**Author's Note:**I am absolutely dying to see _The Winter Soldier_ again. It should be going into the discount theatre in my town soon - not that it isn't worth paying full price, but you can't really beat $3 movies. I used to see movies like 3 or 4 times, but with tickets costing $10.50, I don't think that's a viable option these days.

**Hint #3: **There is a traitor somewhere in the story who will show his or her hand in the sequel. He or she had been in the story briefly. Also we get to find out who the sniper was. (I haven't forgotten about him.)

* * *

**24 – The Gathering of Heroes – May 3, 2012**

Half an hour later, they boarded the Helicarrier once more. Aspen felt Fury's eyes on her the second she set foot aboard, though he did not speak to her. Loki was handcuffed and taken to a secure lock up by a group of SHIELD security personnel. Aspen watched him go, feeling the tension building as he walked out of her sight. There was something off about all of this. She didn't get a chance to consider it because Fury approached her the next moment.

"I believe you have some serious explaining to do, Miss Tolvar," he said. She winced at the use of 'miss' rather than 'agent.' She'd be lucky if she was still a SHIELD employee when this was all over.

"Yes, sir," she said.

"But now is not the time," he told her. She let out the breath she had been holding.

"I only meant to help. I'm not going to do anything to compromise the situation," she promised quickly. "If I can speak to him again-"

"Because that went so well the first time," Tony said under his breath.

She ignored him. "Even if I can't talk him down, I might be able to make him see sense."

Fury was silent for a long moment. "I'll think about it," he said. "Right now _I_ need to question him. Why don't you work on following orders for now."

"Yes, sir," Aspen said, lowering her eyes. He strode away, and Aspen heard Tony give a low whistle.

"I would not want to be in your shoes right now," he said. "Fury can get scary."

Aspen eyed Tony's beat up Iron Man suit. "Doesn't look like you fared so well down there." Thor was standing a little ways off, looking a bit out of place.

"So are you like an agent or something? I haven't quite figured that out." Tony asked.

"I was, _am_, but I also work as a scientist."

"Biology? Neuroscience? Astrophysics? Computer science?"

"Chemistry and astrophysics. But I've been working a little more with biology lately. My parents were scientists too."

"Ah, so it runs in the family."

"I've heard of your father. A little anyway," Aspen said. "I expect you take after him with your inventing skills."

Tony flashed her a smile. "You know, what I'm really interested in is your relationship with Reindeer Hat back there."

Aspen's ire rose. "Why do you care?" she asked, trying to control her anger.

"The guy's trying to take over the world, I'm just trying to figure out what happened before and why you would be a good candidate for questioning him. Also, it kind of sounds like something happened between the two of you. Something_-_"

"Just stop," Aspen said, holding up her hands. "I'm not having this conversation here. Or ever." She strode away from Tony.

"Leave her alone," she heard Steve say before the super soldier followed after her. She found an empty corridor and leaned back against the wall, shutting her eyes against the waves of emotion that were running through her. "Are you alright?" Steve asked, hovering across the hall from her. When she peered at him under her lashes, she saw that his arms were crossed and his blue eyes narrowed in worry. He'd taken off his helmet again, and he looked a little more like Steve again even though he still wore his gear.

"I'm not sure," she answered truthfully. "I feel torn between wanting to help Loki and wanting him gone – not dead, just sent back to his own universe. I keep trying to believe that this winter isn't going to come back and haunt me but with Tony poking at it every chance he gets…"

"He wasn't right to do that," Steve said fiercely, his eyes flashing.

"Clearly he's not going to let it lie until he gets the full story. I think he already suspects what happened." She put her face in her hands. "Which is where the embarrassment comes up. Here we are in an international crisis with all of SHIELD involved, and I'm the one who messed this all up in the first place, who…" She couldn't get the words out.

"Had feelings for him?" Steve asked softly.

"If I admit to that, everyone is going to think I'm some sort of traitor," she said, looking up at him. "Or moron. At this point I'm pretty sure no one would get what I saw in him. _I'm _not even sure what I saw in him…_see_ in him. There's more to him than this, I know that. He's hurting. He craves acceptance above all else. He just doesn't quite go about getting it the right way."

"You're afraid of people judging you?" he asked

"Haven't they already?" Aspen countered.

"I'm not going to judge you," he told her.

She smiled at him. "Thank you," she said softly, horrified to find that she had tears in her eyes. "I'll need a friend when this is all over."

…

She stood at the very edge of the room as they listened in on Fury's interrogation with Loki. Aspen had her black cap pulled low over her face and didn't meet anyone's eyes. Steve, Natasha, and the man Aspen had seen when she'd first left the Quinjet were sitting around the table looking down at the feed of the interrogation. Steve had introduced the man she didn't already know as Doctor Bruce Banner. Aspen hadn't heard of him before, but he seemed to have a reputation. A lot of the agents skirted around him like he was a ticking bomb, and he was clearly ill at ease on the Helicarrier. Thor, Aspen noticed, stood with his back turned to the screen, arms crossed. He looked as tormented as she felt. He would probably understand her conflicting feelings toward Loki. He had grown up alongside him. Even though Loki had blanched at every mention of his brother, she knew this all stemmed from the resentment he felt at having been rejected for the same throne that his brother had been chosen for. He felt as if he had lived in Thor's shadow when really he was just lessening his own self-worth in his eyes. Aspen could hardly stand listening to his biting comments. He didn't seem to be worried about his capture in the least. Finally Fury was done with his conversation with Loki. The demi-god looked straight up at the camera, a smile on his face.

Aspen listened idly as the rest of the group discussed Loki. She stirred when Thor mentioned an army of Chitauri. "Chitauri?" she said, drawing their attention to her.

"Yes, they're not of Asgard or any world known. He means to lead them against

your people. They will win him the earth. In return, I suspect, for the Tesseract."

Aspen shut her eyes for a moment. "They've been to Earth before," she told them. She looked at Natasha. "They're dangerous."

Steve looked between Thor and Aspen. "An army?" he asked. "From outer space?"

Aspen nodded. "I didn't believe it either at first. I'd seen a lot of strange things in my line of work, but this…"

"So he's building another portal," Banner interjected. "That's what he needs Erik Selvig for."

"Selvig?" Thor asked. The name sounded familiar to Aspen, but she couldn't place it.

"He's an astrophysicist," Banner replied. Aspen realized who he was. She had read a lot of his work during her first year in college and was a great admirer of some of his theories.

"He's a friend," Thor told Banner.

"Loki has him under some kind of spell," Natasha told them. "Along with one of ours." She glanced at Aspen whose heart gave a jolt. Clint was still out there somewhere. This wasn't even close to being over.

"I wanna know why Loki let us take him," Steve put in. "He's not leading an army from here."

"It was too easy," Aspen said. "He let us take him, he wanted this. He's got a game plan, and I'm not sure we're going to like it."

"I don't think we should be focusing on Loki," Banner interjected. "That guy's brain is a bag full of cats. You could smell crazy on him."

"Don't underestimate him," Aspen said. "He might act over the top, but he's clever and manipulative."

"Loki is beyond reason, but he is of Asgard, and he's my brother," Thor said, turning to face them.

"He killed eighty people in two days," Natasha said. Aspen felt the blood rush to her head. She didn't hear the rest of the conversation after that. _Eighty_ people? No one had told her that. What had she unleashed? Guilt washed over her. And Clint… He had killed too, unwittingly. When he woke up from this nightmare, that was going to haunt him. Tony chose that moment to walk into the room with Coulson. Aspen wanted to melt into the walls. He was sure to bring up her past with Loki. She couldn't face the humiliation in front of all these people. She looked around for means of escape.

"Ah, you're still here," Tony's voice called out. Aspen looked up to find him looking straight at her. "Since you seem to be such an expert on Loki, maybe you can figure out what his plan is."

"You know my brother?" Thor asked interestedly. Aspen flushed.

"We met," she told him. "Briefly," she added, sending a glare at Tony. "I don't presume to know anything about him."

"What are you even doing here? Sounds like you weren't invited."

"I told you. I'm a scientist-"

"Who was supposed to stay in New York." Fury entered the room. "How _did _you get here? That information was classified."

"I, um, read the files on it."

"I didn't give you any files." Fury's one eye was deadly.

Aspen cast a guilty look at Steve. "I broke into Steve's apartment and read them," she said. Steve furrowed his brow.

"Well, that's awkward," Tony put in.

"Sorry," Aspen said, not meeting Steve's eyes.

"I'm still not including you in this mission. Whatever we have to discuss does not involve you, do I make myself clear?"

"But, sir, I studied the energy from the Tesseract before I even knew what it was. I can be of help."

"Right now you can be somewhere out of sight. I'll deal with you when this is over."

Aspen could tell she wasn't going to sway Fury. She gave a curt nod. "Yes, sir," she said feeling like a child. She left the room without making eye contact with anyone else. She kept walking until she found herself near the detention section of the Helicarrier. She knew she should turn back, but something drove her forward. As she entered the room, she saw the glass room Loki was being kept in. He turned as he heard her, a smile spreading on his face.

"Just couldn't stay away, could you?" he asked.

"You've caused me a lot of trouble," Aspen told him. "I've lost respect. Everyone thinks I'm an idiot. And now you've taken eighty lives. This has already gone too far and you haven't even been here long. You can't just come here and start killing people. What did they ever do to you?"

"I gave them a choice," he said.

"No, you threatened them. You tried to take away their freewill. You took away Clint's freewill."

"Ah, yes, Agent Barton. He told me all about you. All your secrets you never mentioned this winter during my stay." Aspen stiffened. "Oh, yes, he was quite helpful once I opened up his eyes."

"If you hurt him…"

"We've been through this already. What are you going to do?" he asked.

"Look who's talking? You're the one behind glass."

"But I'm not the one tormented. He told me about Danners. About that night on the ship when you took his life." Loki watched her reaction. Aspen fought to keep a straight face. "You too have blood on your hands."

"That's all in the past," she said flatly.

"Oh, but it's not when you keep having nightmares about it." Aspen clenched her fists. "So weak that you can't even take a life without feeling guilty."

"Weak? That doesn't make me weak. It just means I still have my humanity unlike you."

"Ah, but you saw so much good in me before," he taunted her.

"I was wrong."

"Then why are you here if you no longer believe that you can appeal to my humanity?" he asked her. "Is it sentiment?"

She bristled. "Sentiment? You think I'd show you sentiment after all you've done? You betrayed my trust, you took my friend, took his mind, you've killed eighty innocent people, you've threatened my world. No. I'm not going to show you sentiment. I came here-" she paused. Why _had_ she come here?

"Yes?"

"I don't know," she answered truthfully. "I don't know why I came here. But it was a mistake." She turned to leave.

"You came here because you couldn't resist," he told her, striding forward to the edge of the glass prison. She turned back to look at him.

"Was any of it real?" she asked before she could stop herself.

"It was to you. Barton told me about the way you reacted after I left."

Aspen flushed with both anger and embarrassment. "I was hurt," she spat at him.

"That pain is so human. Agent Barton doesn't know pain now. I've opened his mind up to a whole new world."

Aspen gave a bitter laugh. "Yeah, I'm sure it's all sunshine and rainbows," she said. She took a few strides toward him, stopping right on the other side of the glass. "I can see now why your father didn't want you on the throne," she said. His eyes narrowed, and she saw something flash behind them. "You say you think things through, that your brother is the one who courts war." She shook her head. "I think it's the other way around. You are trying to bring war to this world. How is that any different from how your brother used to be when you thought him unfit to rule? How is this better? I've met Thor, and he doesn't want Earth harmed."

"Sometimes there needs to be war before peace," he told her.

"I don't believe that."

"That's because your eyes have not been opened. You still walk in the blindness and naivety of humankind. It will get you nowhere. You will continue to suffer and to hurt."

"I'd rather that than join you," she told him.

"Why do you resist? You say you've lost the respect of your peers. Don't you want revenge? Don't you want to break away from these people who look down on you? Why are you fighting so hard against me when I can help you? I can show you power beyond your wildest dreams, and they will cower before you. They will never question you again."

Aspen laughed. "I don't want people to cower before me. I lost respect because I didn't stop you when I had the chance. There's always something worth fighting for, but it's not you. Not your cause."

"The soldier perhaps," he said silkily, watching her reaction.

"What?" She started at the mention of Steve.

"Is he worth fighting for? I saw the way he looks at you." Loki sounded scornful.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Aspen's heart was beating quickly. She found that she didn't like Loki speaking about Steve. A protectiveness stirred in her.

"If you align yourself with these people, then you will fall," Loki told her. "They're not heroes. They're just a group of misfits brought together because there _is_ no one else."

"I don't believe in heroes," Aspen told him. "Or villains. There are just people doing right and doing wrong, and it's the choices they make that define them. No one is inherently good or bad. I don't feel sentiment toward you, but I don't believe you're evil. You're only a villain if you try to be, but that's not who you really are."

"And you know me so well?"

"Better than you think." Aspen turned away. "And that just might be your downfall," she added before walking away. She expected him to retort, have the last word, but he was silent. She resisted the urge to look back, letting the door slide shut behind her. She let out a deep breath in the hall. It was as if a great weight had been taken off her shoulders. The oppressive anxiety she'd felt ever since she'd heard that Loki was on Earth again had lessened. The danger wasn't over, but she had faced him despite all her apprehensions. She had proved that she could move on and be strong.

She started when someone called her name, and turned to see Steve looking upset. "What is it?" she asked him.

"There's something you need to see," he told her. "You're not going to like it."


	29. Chaos

**Author's Note:**50 favorites in a month? Wow! That means so much to me! Thank you, thank you, thank you! I'm working on the last chapter of this fanfic right now and am plotting the second one! I've got some great ideas that are going to be so much fun to write!

**Hint #4: **The cover photo shows both Steve and Aspen. I photoshopped it myself and actually merged three different pictures of Steve into one to get his face and eyes the way I wanted. (Phew, really testing my rusty photoshop skills!)

* * *

**25 – Chaos – May 3, 2012**

Steve led Aspen toward one of the storage rooms down a deserted corridor. The door labeled Secure Storage 10-C had been forcibly opened Aspen noted. She glanced at Steve before following him through. He led her up a catwalk and to a set of storage boxes. One was open and had obviously been rifled through. She stopped short when she saw what was inside.

"Is that…?"

"It's a Hydra weapon," Steve said. "SHIELD has been developing Hydra weapons. And that gear... It's straight out of my time."

"That's why they had the Tesseract." She tried to get her thoughts in order. That was why Fury had seized all her work. He had been building weapons behind her back, and she'd sent Hydra's weapon plans straight to ballistics. She'd put the key to making these guns right into their hands. Some of these probably _were_ the guns she'd studied. The Tesseract was what would power them. "I knew there was something off. I've seen weapons like these before. SHIELD got its hands on some Hydra weapons from your time. I studied them. I didn't realize then that the energy that powered them came from the Tesseract." The gravity of the situation was beginning to hit her. "Why would SHIELD need these weapons?" she asked him.

He shook his head. "I don't know. No good can come from them though. I've seen the destruction they can do."

"I have too. I tested one of the Hydra guns. It disintegrated the target."

Steve nodded solemnly. "It seems to be what's powering Loki's staff too."

"That's what happened in Santa Fe. They were studying the Tesseract and it imploded. The energy would be unpredictable. It's not from this universe. We can never hope to fully understand it, and we certainly shouldn't be trying to harness its energy. Just look where that got Hydra in the end."

"Do you have any idea of what Loki's plan is?" Steve asked her gently.

"He means to rule Earth. He's got his army waiting. I don't know anything more than the rest of you."

"He's going to open a portal, I guess to let the army into this universe. Doctor Banner had a few ideas about that. Most of it went over my head," he admitted.

"Well he can't do anything locked in here, but I get the feeling he knows exactly what he's doing. He didn't even seem concerned about the cuff. He's got something up his sleeve. He might bring chaos with him, but he's smart. He's playing us all somehow."

"Did you speak to him?" Aspen nodded. "Are you alright?"

"I just want this to be over. Then I'll be alright."

"We need to let Banner and Stark know about these," Steve said motioning to the Hydra weapons. "They had their suspicions too." He grabbed one of the guns.

"About Fury?"

"Him and SHIELD. Something just wasn't quite right about all of this."

"I've been so preoccupied that I hadn't noticed, but when I was first assigned the Hydra weapons as a project, I got the feeling there was more to it than just interest. Seems I was right."

"Come on, let's get out of here." Steve waited for her, following her back down the ladder and out of the storage room.

"I'm going to hang back," she said. "You go ahead. I'm going to see if I can find anything else around the Helicarrier. I have a gift for finding things after all."

"Alright. Be careful," Steve told her. "We don't know what SHIELD's game plan is. I don't want to see you get hurt."

"I'll be careful," she promised him. "You too. Don't trust anyone."

"Not even you?"

"That's your choice," she said, giving him a small smile before walking away.

She didn't know what she was looking for, but she now knew that SHIELD had a hidden agenda. After five minutes of poking around, she had drawn a blank. That's when an explosion sent her flying into the wall. The Helicarrier veered downward, and Aspen saw stars as her head struck the wall. She scrambled to her feet, looking around. This had to be Loki's doing. Somehow. Emergency alarms began to blare as the Helicarrier lost altitude. Aspen didn't pause before sprinting toward the detention block. She skidded to a halt outside his prison. He was standing there, looking pleased with himself. A tremendous roar sounded somewhere down below, and his smirk widened.

"Ah, everything going according to plan," he said almost cheerfully.

"What have you done?" Aspen asked.

"It's not me. It's your friend, Agent Barton."

"Clint is here?" Aspen asked, eyes widening.

"Yes. He's been quite a useful asset to me."

"Don't talk about him like that!" Aspen snapped. "He's going to murder you as soon as he snaps out of whatever mind control you've got over him. If I don't kill you first."

"Idle threats. You don't have the nerve to kill me."

"Well you've still got that handy little cuff around your wrist, so I don't think you'll be doing much," Aspen spat at him.

His smile widened. "My power has grown since last you saw me," he told her. "This…trinket can't stop me. Watch."

Aspen stood watching as Loki transformed before her eyes. His skin grew paler with a bluish pallor. Ice built up along his arms and around the cuff. To Aspen's horror, the cuff began to crack under the pressure of the ice. A moment later it snapped in several places, falling to the floor to lie in a harmless pile. Loki's eyes shone red a second before the ice receded, and he became himself again.

"Now, you see. You cannot fathom my power."

Aspen didn't know what to say. At that moment the power flickered, and she heard the engines shudder and die. She looked around frantically. The systems seemed to be down which meant security was down. When she looked up again, Loki wasn't in the glass cage. The door stood wide open. She stopped breathing for a moment. Something brushed her shoulder. She whirled around to find Loki standing behind her. Somehow he held his staff even though it had been taken away when he was captured.

"I always win in the end," he told her.

Aspen stood her ground. "It's not over," she told him, taking a step forward so that she was inches from him. She looked him straight in the eye. "The only way you're going to win is if every one of us bows down to you which is never going to happen. You won't ever get me to kneel."

"Oh, won't I?" He moved his scepter so that it was in front of her heart. He brushed the tip against her jacket. "If you won't join me of your own free will, then I might just have to take that from you." He pressed the staff against her, and the Tesseract energy glowed blue. Aspen was blinded for a moment, her vision going sharp and yet hazy. She held her ground, waiting for the dizziness to pass. A moment later it did. She opened her eyes.

Loki frowned. "I see your immunity is far greater than I'd anticipated," he said.

Aspen pushed back her surprise. "My parents knew what they were doing."

"I want to know what they did to you," Loki said, circling her slowly. She stiffened.

"I don't know," she said. "I was working on creating the same serum, but it was stolen from me before I could see if it worked."

"Then you are just going to be in the way," Loki said, standing before her again.

"Are you going to kill me?" she asked, smiling. "You had the chance to before and you didn't."

"This time it's different."

"Then kill me." She stepped forward so that the scepter was pressed against her again. She met Loki's blue gaze. "Then I'll truly know that there is no good left in you. If there ever was any. I was willing to accept you for who you were. The good and the bad... I looked past all the bits of darkness. It's a part of you. I never saw you as a evil, but then you took my friend and you threatened my world."

"And now I'm just evil to you?"

Aspen hesitated. "I don't believe you're truly lost," she said.

"Is that right?" he sneered. His pupils were dark, and the blue ringed around them danced with an emotion she couldn't read. She would say that it was anger, but it looked too much like pain.

"You see, the beauty of free will is having choices. You can either make the right choice or the wrong choice. Which choice is right or wrong depends entirely on you though. So I suppose there is no real right or wrong answer."

"You humans are exceedingly incomprehensible sometimes," Loki told her with a frown.

Running footsteps interrupted them, and Loki grabbed Aspen's arm, pulling her out of immediate sight. He placed a hand over her mouth, holding her tightly against him. Thor rushed into the room and as he did, Aspen saw another version of Loki leaving the cell.

"No!" Thor shouted, charging the fake Loki. Aspen squirmed, trying to warn him that it was a trap, but Loki's grip on her was vice-like. Thor went straight through the Loki-mirage and into the cell. The door closed, and Loki released Aspen, striding up to where his brother was now captive. Thor glowered at him from behind the glass, holding his hammer in his right hand with a death grip.

"Are you ever _not_ going to fall for that?" Loki asked, an amused expression on his face.

Thor practically growled, bringing his hammer against the glass with all his might. The glass cracked a little and the Helicarrier shook. Loki grinned at his brother, striding over to where he stood imprisoned. "The humans think us immortal. Should we test that?" A guard had appeared from the corridor, holding a gun. His eyes were an unnatural shade of blue, and Aspen realized that he was under Loki's control. Loki walked over to the control panel that controlled the glass cell. Aspen met Thor's worried expression. Then she drew her dart gun and shot the guard. He fell to the floor. Before Loki could turn, Aspen had grabbed him, thrusting him away from the control panel. She knew she couldn't win in a fight against him, but if she could just get the door open then Thor could handle him. She braced herself as Loki flung her backwards. Her back hit the railing behind her. She winced before moving in again. This time he swung the scepter at her, and she grabbed it, forcing it toward his own heart. She couldn't match his strength though. He flung her back again, and she hit the floor, sliding backwards.

"Haven't we been through this already?" he asked. "You weak humans are no match for a god."

Aspen got to her feet. "Didn't you learn anything in your time on Earth? We humans are stubborn, and we don't give up easily." She strode toward him, watching his every movement. He stood his ground, watching her in return with amused eyes. When she lunged, he was ready, he moved aside so quickly, she nearly tripped. She took her chance and darted over to the control panel. Her hand was inches from button that would open the door when Loki grabbed her, flinging her away from it. She caught herself as she fell, but he was too fast. He brought his staff down on her head, and she slumped to the floor, everything going black.

Somewhere within her subconscious she heard him whisper something as he knelt down beside her. "You could have ruled at my side, but you chose the wrong side."

…

When Aspen came to, a medical team had arrived. One man crouched over her, but most of them were gathered around a body. She couldn't see who it was, but she did see Fury standing back watching with a somber expression on his face.

Loki was gone. So was Thor and the glass cage holding him. The medics moved aside, and she could see who it was sitting against the wall. It was Coulson. Blood congealed on his chest from a wound, and Aspen could see that he was dead. Her stomach turned over and blackness threatened to overwhelm her again. Instead of fighting it, she let it take her back into oblivion. At least in oblivion she didn't have to face the chaos that was quickly destroying SHIELD.

…

When Aspen woke up again, she saw someone sitting next to her bed. Bright blue eyes came into focus and then blonde hair and a worried face. Steve had changed out of his uniform, and for a second she thought they were back in New York. Then the reality came crashing back to her.

"Coulson's dead," she said.

"I know," Steve told her. "Loki killed him." A pained expression crossed his face.

"He was a good man," Aspen said. "He didn't deserve to die."

"I thought he'd killed you at first. I saw the nurses carrying your body into the medical bay. I thought…" He stopped speaking, his voice cracking. Aspen reached out her hand and slid it into his.

"I'm alright," she said. "He couldn't kill me. He couldn't control me either. My immunity works against his scepter."

Steve's eyes still danced with worry, and his hand tightened around hers. "He tried to control you?"

"It didn't work," she assured him. "No one is going to control me." She smiled weakly, and he returned it hesitantly. "What happened? Who caused the explosion? Loki mentioned Clint…"

"Agent Barton is here. I think Agent Romanoff managed to shake Loki's hold on him somehow."

Aspen's heart leapt. "He's okay?"

"I think so."

"Thank God." Aspen shut her eyes, relief flooding through her.

"He caused the explosion but under Loki's control. Things got tense after I brought the Hydra weapon to Stark and Banner's attention. Fury happened to be there right as Stark hacked into the system. Apparently Fury was building the weapons because he thought something like this might happen. It was a project called Phase 2." Aspen frowned. "After Thor came here, he felt outgunned. It seems to have backfired on him though. Everyone started arguing." He looked a little bashful. "Stark and I went around quite a bit."

"He tends to rub people the wrong way, I've noticed," Aspen said wryly.

"After the explosion, he and I got one of the engines going again. Doctor Banner transformed and nearly destroyed the Helicarrier. We're not sure what happened to him. He fell…"

"What do you mean transformed?" Aspen asked, narrowing her eyes.

"Doctor Banner tried to reproduce the Super Soldier Serum," Steve told her. "But it went terribly wrong. Now when he loses his temper he turns into a…I hate to say a monster. He's not in control of himself when he changes."

Suddenly Aspen made the connection. "He's not the _Hulk_, is he?" Steve nodded. "I saw a news report on him. I didn't make the connection before. Banner seemed so…mild the very few times I heard him speak. What happened to Thor?"

"We're not sure. Loki released the glass cell. Hopefully Thor managed to escape before it hit the ground."

"Is everyone else still here?"

"Stark, Romanoff, Barton."

"So what happens now? Where did Loki go?"

"We don't know." Steve sighed. "We're not much of a team."

"A team? Is that why Fury called you all together?"

"He had this idea. It was called the Avengers Initiative. I guess he thought he could bring together unique individuals, and we could work together. It didn't work out so well."

"People don't work well together when they feel trapped the way we all felt. Not that I'm a part of this. Fury is probably going to fire me when this is all over."

"I doubt that. Anyway, we could use your help. We need all the help we can get."

"I failed to stop Loki again though. I'm not really all that useful."

"That's not true," Steve told her.

"This is all such a mess," Aspen said with a sigh. "We need to figure out where Loki went. Have you talked to the others? Maybe they know something. What about Clint? Where is he?"

"He's in the next room over. Agent Romanoff is with him. He's still recovering."

"Can I see him?"

"I think so. I'm sure he'll be glad to see you." Aspen got to her feet, Steve getting up at the same time, still gripping her hand. "I'll go see if I can find Stark. Maybe he has some idea of what we should do."

"I'll talk to Clint." She winced as she moved. Her back hurt from where Loki had thrown her against the metal rails.

"Are you sure you're alright?" Steve asked, furrowing his brow.

"I'll be fine," she told him. "I've been through worse."

They parted outside, and Aspen knocked on the next door over. Natasha opened it for her, letting her in. Clint was sitting up on the bed, looking weary. As soon as he saw her, his eyes lit up. "Pen," he said.

"Clint." She rushed over and threw her arms around him. "God, I was so worried. You have no idea," she said.

"We need to discuss your taste in men," he told her, his voice muffled in her shoulder as she tried her best to smother him.

"Oh shut up," she threw at him, finally letting go. She beamed at Natasha. "How did you break Loki's control over him?" she asked.

"I, uh, hit him over the head pretty hard," she replied with a smile.

"After beating me up," Clint said with a wince.

"I'm just so glad you're okay." He squeezed her hand. "We need a plan. Is there anything you can remember that would help us locate Loki?" Aspen asked.

"He didn't tell me his plans that far," Clint told her. "I wasn't exactly in the state of mind to ask."

"I can't believe he did that to you. When I heard…" She shook her head. "It's all my fault. If I had just turned him into SHIELD in the first place…"

"Then this might have started a lot sooner," Clint told her. "He could have escaped in the New York headquarters and caused more destruction. Who knows? If anything, you kept him from wreaking havoc the first time around. Quit blaming yourself, Pen. I need you to be strong."

Aspen nodded. "I feel useless," she said. "I smuggled aboard the Helicarrier. Fury didn't want me anywhere near this."

"Fury needs all the help he can get now," Natasha told her. "You're close to this but that means you have a right to fight too."

"I'm not sure I'm ready to fight."

"You're always ready to fight," Clint told her. "I did train you myself after all." Aspen smiled at this. "Nothing I could have said or done would have prepared you for this though," he added more seriously. "We're not trained to deal with this sort of thing. Something from another world." He glanced at Natasha who stood, arms crossed, face serious. "We're all way in over our heads. You're probably the most prepared. You've dealt with him before."

"You two helped me take down the Chitauri."

"That was different. Now he's got an army. It's not going to be a couple dozen guys wearing the faces of our agents. It's going to be hundreds possibly more, and they're not going to be subtle. Loki is going to act soon. Today. We need to stop him."

"We will."

"That's the spirit. I'm going to get cleaned up," Clint told them. He stood, squeezing Aspen's shoulder and heading into the small bathroom to their right.

Natasha came and sat next to Aspen, looking more fidgety than Aspen had ever seen her. "Are you alright? Tasha?" Natasha looked over at the use of her nickname. Her green eyes held a light that Aspen had never seen. She definitely wouldn't call it fear, but it was an anxiety that the assassin never brought to the surface to Aspen's knowledge.

"I spoke to Loki," she told Aspen. "Tried to figure out his plan. Which was to unleash the Hulk. Turns out it didn't matter that we knew his game plan. It still happened. When the explosion knocked us all around, I ended up with Banner. He…he couldn't take the level of stress and panic. He changed."

"I heard him roar. I didn't realize you were down there."

"It's just…we've never dealt with anything like this. I'm used to being in control, having the situation under control, but this…"

"Did Loki say something to you? He manipulates, you know. Finds your breaking point and digs in. Doesn't matter if you've been trained not to react, you still feel."

"He threatened Clint. I don't like people threatening one of my own," Natasha said. "He knew everything about me too. Things I'd much rather be kept in the dark. He wormed his way in."

"At least all your secrets didn't happen _with _him," Aspen sighed. "He doesn't need anyone to tell him about me because he was there to witness all my failings."

Natasha shook her head. "You're still innocent, Aspen. Whatever he has on you isn't bad. Not like me."

"It will be alright," Aspen told her. "We all make mistakes."

They looked up as Steve walked into the room back in his uniform and looking determined. "Time to go," he said.

"Go where?" Natasha asked.

"I'll tell you on the way. Can you fly one of those jets?" he asked.

"I can," Clint said striding out of the bathroom. Natasha gave Steve a small nod to let him know that Clint was back on their side.

"Got a suit?" Steve asked Clint.

"Yeah," Clint replied.

"Then suit up."


	30. New York

**Author's Note:**So I always appreciate reviews and have gotten such great comments and some fantastic advice. I just wanted to give a shout out to the guest user who reviewed the last chapter. (Since I can't PM you to thank you!) It totally made my day. It seriously means the world to me to know that people want me to keep writing, appreciate the effort I put into it, and will be with me every step of the way. It's blown me away how much support this story has gotten. A month ago I got the idea to write it but was terrified to post it, thinking it wouldn't be good enough. I've gained so much confidence thanks to you guys though! It's been fun, and I can't wait to keep writing.

This is probably the longest chapter so far. It's full of lots of excitement! I finished this story last night and immediately dove into the sequel. Here's your next hint at the sequel story!

**Hint #5: **The sequel will be titled _A Game of Enemies_.

* * *

**26 – New York – May 4, 2012**

Aspen slipped after Steve while Natasha and Clint prepared themselves. Steve led her to the locker room where he had stowed his shield and helmet. Aspen checked her belt to make sure she had everything she needed.

"You won't be needing those dart guns," Steve told her.

"The Chitauri don't respond to the darts anyway." Aspen hesitantly set them aside. She had knives and her guns, but she felt a little useless. Clint had his bow, Tony his suit, Thor is hammer, and Steve his shield. Natasha had her skills as a spy and former assassin. And then there was Doctor Banner who basically turned into a destructive monster. Aspen was just the seventh wheel which had utterly no use.

"Are you ready?" Steve asked, giving her a concerned look. She looked down at her weapons.

"I'm not a soldier," she said. "I'm just a smuggler turned scientist. My missions with Clint…I was just acquiring things, taking out a few guards with darts. I don't have training in battle. I may know how to fight, but I'm untested."

"You don't have to do this, you know," he told her. "No one would think any less of you if you stayed behind."

"I can't just sit here and do nothing while you're out there fighting," she told him, resolute. "I have to do this."

"We'll watch each other's backs," Steve promised her.

"You'll be okay," Aspen told him. "You're a hero after all."

"I'm just a man," Steve told her. "Just because I have a suit doesn't make me a hero."

"No, the man behind the suit is the hero," she told him. "There doesn't have to be a disaster to save people. You're good at doing that anyway."

He frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Maybe after all these years of taking care of myself, I finally realized that I needed someone to save me from myself," she said. "After so many years of my life doing other people's dirty work, you came along and did everything for me without expecting anything in return. All I had to offer was my friendship, and that was enough."

"You don't need saving, Pen," Steve told her. "You're one of the strongest people I know. You _saved_ me when I first woke up. You've been by my side that entire time. Not many people would do that."

"You would if the roles were reversed," she said. "You gave me a reason to keep fighting."

"I think you're giving me too much credit. I didn't do anything." He scuffed his boot self-consciously, and Aspen was once again struck by how utterly normal he was when you looked past the suit. You could make a man into a lot of things, but in the end, he was still just a man.

"Well, maybe we're both just a little too shy to admit we helped each other," she said. She felt her cheeks flush a little at her words. Steve, _Captain America_, was telling her that she saved him. He was watching her keenly, blue eyes bright. Unspoken words made the air heavy. It clicked somewhere in Aspen's brain that he had called her 'Pen' instead of the usual 'Aspen.' Only Clint and her aunt ever called her that. It seemed so personal, and she found that wasn't a bad thing. She wasn't used to letting people in. She'd sworn she never would again after Loki betrayed her trust, but Steve was different. He was day where Loki was night, and Aspen wanted to bask in his light. He was so good. She couldn't understand why he seemed to think she was too.

"We should go," Aspen said after a heavy silence. "They'll be waiting for us."

Steve seemed to shake himself out of his reverie. He nodded, putting on his helmet and sliding his left arm into his shield. "Ready," he said.

Aspen gave him a nod and they walked side-by-side to where Natasha and Clint were waiting. They made for one of the Quinjets, and as they approached, the pilot looked up at them, alarm in his eyes. "You're not authorized to be here," he said, looking from Steve to Natasha to Clint. They made an intimidating trio.

"Son…just don't," Steve said. The pilot gave the four of them one last glance and left.

Aspen gave Steve a grin. "Nicely handled," she told him. Natasha and Clint moved into the pilot and co-pilot's seats. Aspen and Steve belted themselves in behind, choosing seats next to each other.

"Where to Cap?" Clint asked.

"New York. Stark Tower. Loki wants to be noticed, and that's the best place to do it. Tony is meeting us there."

"New York it is," Clint said, setting in coordinates.

Aspen felt a surge of anxiety as the jet took off. It must have shown, because she felt Steve take her hand, giving it a squeeze. Clint glanced back at them, and a smirk lit up his face. Aspen glared at him but didn't let go of Steve's hand.

The flight to New York didn't take long. Out the front window, Aspen could see the portal. It was a gaping hole in the sky ringed with blue. Energy surged up into the portal from Stark Tower. "He opened it," she said. "The army is already here." As she spoke, she saw thousands of Chitauri flying through the city on speeders. It was like a scene out of _Star Wars_, and Aspen had to remind herself that this was all very real. She felt a jolt realizing just how terrified the people on the streets below must be. It was like a nightmare. She wasn't sure how far news of Puente Antiguo had spread, but nothing quite like this had ever happened and certainly not on a scale like this. New York was the best place for Loki to make a show of it, and he was doing a good job at that already.

"The people on the streets must be terrified," she voiced aloud. "We have to help them."

"We need to shut down that portal," Natasha said. "Stark, we're heading north east," she said into her headpiece.

"What, did you stop for drive-thru?" Tony's voice came through. Aspen rolled her eyes. "Swing up Park. I'm gonna lay them out for you."

Clint navigated and Natasha readied one of the Quinjet's guns. As soon as the Chitauri speeders were in sight, she started shooting. Clint headed toward Stark Tower, turning the jet every so often to help Natasha take down the Chitauri that crossed their path. There was no missing Stark Tower especially now that the blue glow from the Tesseract was pulsing at the very top.

"We need to get up there," Aspen said.

As they approached the tower, hovering near the top, Aspen could see Loki and Thor fighting. Clint aimed one of the guns at Loki, but Loki raised his scepter and a blue energy hit the Quinjet, taking out one of the wings. They started to go down, and Aspen clenched her seat in a death grip as Clint tried to keep the jet from crashing hard. They did crash in the end, but besides a jolt that sent them flying against their restraints, they all came out unscathed. Aspen quickly undid the seatbelt and got unsteadily to her feet. They exited the ruined Quinjet, finding themselves in an intersection that was now scattered with broken pieces of the Quinjet wing along with several overturned cars. Up above them the portal reverberated with a roar. A shadow fell over them, and they looked up to see some sort of leviathan worming its way out of the portal. It was gigantic and its fins sliced through buildings like knives as it wound its way down the city streets.

"What the hell is that?" Aspen voiced, but no one had a response to that.

"Stark, are you seeing this?" Steve asked into his earpiece.

"I'm seeing; still working on believing," Tony's voice replied. "Where's Banner? Has he shown up yet?"

"Banner?" Steve asked with a furrowed brow.

"Just keep me posted."

Everywhere around them it was chaos. People were running and screaming, trying to get away if there was such a place to get away to. Aspen wanted to tell them to calm down, but she knew that panicked people were often beyond reason. They ducked behind a row of overturned taxis, seeking shelter as they assessed the situation. The Chitauri swarmed overhead, shooting at the cars and the people below. People were running around screaming in terror.

"Those people need assistance down there," Steve said. Aspen peered over the edge of the bridge. The Chitauri were shooting at random, and the people were clearly terrified. Rage was building up in her at the sight of it.

"What does he think he's going to accomplish with this?" she snapped. "Taking innocent lives? This ends now."

As she spoke, several Chitauri landed on the cars around them, crushing the metal beneath their feet. Natasha stood, firing multiple shots. Clint moved into a better position, readying his bow. "We got this. It's good. Go!" Natasha told Steve.

"You think you can hold them off?" Steve asked.

"Captain," Clint said, pulling the trigger on his bow and grabbing an arrow from his quiver. "It would be my genuine pleasure." He stood, shooting an arrow straight into a Chitauri's head. Before Aspen had the chance to say anything, Steve took off. He leapt over the side of the bridge with speed and agility Aspen knew a normal human could never match. She watched as he landed on a bus, rolling to avoid the shots from the Chitauri. She had to divert her attention to the attack as the Chitauri advanced on them. She pulled out her gun and began to fire. She and Natasha covered Clint as he helped civilians out of a bus. It was chaos everywhere. People didn't know where to run. It was instinct to run and scream and that sort of panic spread like wildfire. Aspen tried to stay calm. Panic was just as much an enemy as the Chitauri. She spotted a group of people huddling behind an overturned car down below. Some of the Chitauri had seen them and were striding toward them, scepters in hand. Aspen looked over at Clint and Natasha who had the situation under control.

She slipped away, pulling out a grappling device that would allow her to slide down to the street below. She would break her legs trying to mimic Steve's own leap. She attached the grapple to the bridge rail and grabbed the end. She put one leg over the side and then the other, gripping the end of the device. As she let go of the bridge, she slid smoothly to the ground, landing several feet away from the huddled people. The Chitauri had nearly reached them, but they hadn't noticed Aspen just yet. Aspen checked to make sure she had enough bullets. There were six Chitauri. She knew that she should probably get help, but there wasn't time now. Aspen pulled the trigger. She managed to take down three of the Chitauri before the remaining creatures aimed their scepters at her. She ducked and three blue blasts caused a minor explosion behind her. She rolled to the right behind another car as the Chitauri aimed at her again. She shot one down, diving away from the car when a blast hit it.

"Look out!" one of the people called out as four more Chitauri landed behind her. Aspen looked around her. She was outnumbered by six Chitauri again, and she was backed up against the car the people were cowering behind. She needed to draw the Chitauri away from the people to give them a chance to escape. A crazy plan began to form in her mind. As the Chitauri pointed their staffs at her, Aspen took a running leap, scrambling up the hood of a truck straight ahead, and ducking down in the bed as the Chitauri shot at her. She jumped out of the truck as it exploded behind her. She shot behind her, grazing one of the Chitauri and wounding another in the shoulder. One of the leviathans turned down the street, and Aspen ducked down as stone crumbled from the sides of the buildings around her. It rained down, and she scrambled to get out of the way. A sharp piece of stone hit her arm, and she winced. She threw herself behind a car, but the Chitauri were shooting at her again. She'd successfully drawn them away from the civilians but now she was their target. She got in a couple of shots before she had to move again. She ducked behind the other side of the car and shot through the broken windows. She hit a Chitauri in the head. This angered the others who came running at her. Aspen took another shot and then ran, dodging bullets and trying to keep behind the overturned cars. Fire licked the insides of one car, and she could feel the heat of it as she passed. She took a couple more shots and downed another Chitauri with a bullet to the chest. A bullet whizzed over her head. Aspen was beginning to wish she hadn't gone alone.

Overhead one of the Chitauri speeders was coming at her. The Chitauri controlling it began to fire at her, and she threw herself aside. She realized that she'd rolled right out into firing range of the Chitauri on the ground. They raised their scepters at her and blue light flashed out straight at her. Aspen shut her eyes, waiting for the impact, but it never came. Something grabbed her, and she could hear the blue energy refracting off of something. She opened her eyes and saw that Steve had come back. He was crouched beside her, shield out in front of both of them.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

Aspen nodded numbly. "Thank you. I thought I was dead." The look in Steve's eyes told her he had believed the same thing. He leapt to his feet, using his shield to knock aside three Chitauri. Aspen shot the fourth as it turned its attention to Steve. He stood panting.

"We need to get back to Clint and Natasha," Aspen said. She felt something warm trickle down her head and wiped away blood. Her arm was stinging where the stone had sliced open her sleeve and caused a shallow wound. She followed after Steve, trying her best not to fall behind though he ran slower to keep pace with her. They rejoined Clint and Natasha just in time. The attacks were getting brutal, and it was clear that the Chitauri were focusing their energy on them. Aspen found herself entirely unprepared for the onslaught. Her skills in stealth were completely useless here. She was relying entirely on brute force which she found wasn't working for her. Panic was beginning to worm its way into her mind. She didn't see a way out of this. There were thousands of Chitauri and only four of them plus Tony and Thor who were off who knew where fighting their own battles.

Suddenly an electrical charge came down from the sky, striking down the Chitauri around them. Thor landed nearby. Aspen fell back against a taxi, exhausted. Steve threw her a concerned look before turning to Thor.

"What's the story upstairs?" he asked, looking up at Stark Tower.

"The power surrounding the cube is impenetrable," Thor told them.

"Thor is right. We gotta deal with these guys," Tony's voice came from their earpieces.

"How do we do this?" Natasha asked.

"As a team," Steve said, looking at all of them in turn. Aspen felt a surge of pride toward the group. They had come so far from the bickering and disagreement even though that had only been a few hours before. She suddenly understood just what the Avengers Initiative was and what Fury had been striving for. But she wasn't a part of that. She held back, shying away from Steve's glance. She wasn't supposed to be here, wasn't supposed to be a part of this. This was a job for heroes, and she just wasn't a hero.

"I have unfinished business with Loki," Thor growled. Aspen felt a jolt. So did she.

"Yeah?" Clint asked. "Get in line." He looked at Aspen and gave her a small smile.

"Save it," Steve told them. "Loki's gonna keep this fight focused on us and that's what we need. Without him these things could run wild. We got Stark up top, he's gonna need us..." He broke off as the sound of a motorcycle cut the air. They all looked over to see Doctor Banner arriving. He got off, looking around the city with a mildly appalled look on his face.

"So, this all seems horrible," he finally said.

"I've seen worse," Natasha put in, giving him a cautious look. Aspen remembered that Natasha had been trapped with him after the explosion when he had turned into the Hulk.

"Sorry," Doctor Banner said, looking bashful.

"No. We could use a little worse," Natasha told him.

"Stark? We got him," Steve said into his earpiece. "Just like you said."

"Then tell him to suit up. I'm bringing the party to you," Tony's voice said to them. Aspen felt a jolt of fear. She didn't know how much more of this she could take. She realized she didn't have a choice when the leviathan came around the corner in hot pursuit of Tony. It opened its mouth wide, rows of sharp teeth glinting.

"I don't see how this is a party," she heard Natasha say. Aspen could hardly hear anything over the beating of her heart and the roar of the beast. Tony was clearly just as good at upsetting monsters as people.

Doctor Banner had started walking toward the beast, and Aspen forgot for a moment that he was more than just a man. He looked back at them and Steve said, "Dr. Banner. Now might be a really good time for you to get angry."

"That's my secret, Captain," Banner told him. "I'm always angry." Before their eyes, his body grew, turning a shade of green. Aspen gaped as the Hulk emerged, striding toward the leviathan and plunging a fist straight into it. The beast seemed to crumble before him, its tail end going up and over their heads. Tony fired at it in turn, hitting a soft spot. Pieces of flesh sizzled down to the streets. Aspen realized then that it was going to fall straight on them. She felt arms grab her, pulling her down behind a tipped car.

"I got you," Clint said. Aspen saw Steve crouch down with Natasha, his shield blocking them. When the worst was over, they clamored out from under the car, joining the others. Aspen half wanted to stay where she was, but she followed Clint, sticking close to his side. The Chitauri began to screech around them, and the group formed a circle, ready for the next onslaught. Tony landed beside them, and Aspen felt a little safer now that they were all together. Steve gave her a nod, and she felt a little braver.

Above them the portal rumbled and hundreds more Chitauri and several more leviathans made their way out. Aspen watched in horror. When was this going to end? They were ridiculously outnumbered despite the fact that she had a demi-god and several superheroes on her side. The absurdity of the situation hit her then. She who had scoffed at heroes, had believed that such a thing didn't exist, and yet now she was surrounded by extraordinary people who had already beaten the odds against an alien invasion.

"Guys," Natasha said, her voice giving away a hint of worry.

"Call it, Cap," Tony said, turning to Steve. Aspen was surprised that he would let Steve give the orders. Steve seemed to be in his element as he told them his plan.

"Alright, listen up. Until we can close that portal up there, we're gonna use containment. Barton, I want you on that roof, eyes on everything. Call out patterns and strays. Stark, you got the perimeter. Anything gets more than three blocks out, you turn it back or you turn it to ash."

The two nodded and Clint turned to Tony. "Wanna give me a lift?" he asked. "Be safe Pen," he added to Aspen before Tony grabbed him, flying him up to a tall building.

"Thor, you've gotta try and bottleneck that portal. Slow them down. You've got the lightning. Light the bastards up." Thor nodded before swinging his hammer and taking off. Aspen still wasn't used to the flying. Tony in his Iron Man suit, sure, but otherwise…

Steve turned to her and Natasha, and Aspen realized it was just the three of them now besides the Hulk. "You two and me, we stay here on the ground, keep the fighting here. And Hulk." He turned to the green monster who used to be a doctor. "Smash."

The Hulk grinned before leaping onto the side of a building, taking several Chitauri down. Aspen turned to Steve. "Are you ready?" he asked. She nodded, unable to speak. Natasha gave her a grim nod.

The onslaught began, and Aspen found herself nearly overwhelmed despite having Steve and Natasha by her side. Steve stuck close to her, fending off several attacks that could have gone badly for her. She was getting tired, unused to this amount of physical fighting. No mission she had ever been on prepared her for this. Chitauri speeders were still zooming by overhead, and she glanced up to see that Loki had commandeered one. He looked down at her, a smirk twisting his lips. Aspen glared at him before knocking down the Chitauri she had been fighting and wresting the scepter out of its hand.

"I'm going after him," she said.

"What? No!" Steve called after her, but she had taken off, finding a new reserve of energy. She chased Loki's speeder around the corner, raising the Chitauri staff and firing. The shot hit the bottom of the speeder and took out the engine. It started to loose altitude and finally went crashing to the ground. Loki took the fall gracefully, turning to face Aspen who strode toward him, Chitauri staff in hand.

Loki's expression was amused as she stopped a few paces away from him. "Where are all your friends?" he asked. "Scattered? They don't stand a chance, you know."

"They stand a better chance than you think," she spat at him. "Look at all this destruction you've caused. Do you really think the people are going to look to you as their leader when you're destroying their home?"

Loki tilted his head. "It doesn't have to be this way. All you have to do is surrender."

"Haven't we been through this before?" she asked. "I'm not going to surrender. Not to you. Not ever. None of us are."

"Then are you going to fight me? That went so well the first two times."

Aspen gave him a small smile. "But now I have this," she said, raising the staff.

"Do you even know how to use it?" he asked with a laugh.

"I guess we'll find out." Aspen found the trigger and pulled. A blue energy shot out of the end, but Loki dodged quickly to the side, and it hit the wall behind him. He raised his scepter and returned fire. Aspen rolled out of the way, firing again as she leapt to her feet. Loki was too quick for her though. As he circled her, Aspen forgot the trigger and simply swung the staff at him like a sword. He grinned, swinging his scepter up to block her blow.

"Now this is fun," he said.

"You keep threatening to kill me, but so far you haven't," Aspen told him. "I don't think you have it in you." She angled the staff toward him and pulled the trigger sending Loki flying backwards into a car. He groaned, getting up. His body had left an impression in the car, but he seemed unharmed.

"You just keep surprising me," he told her.

"You shouldn't be surprised that I keep fighting." She charged him again, this time feinting and catching him off guard. She struck a blow to his shoulder, twisting out of the way as he sent his scepter at her. She kicked out, catching his legs and grabbing the scepter and twisting. He lost balance, but quickly recovered, thrusting her back and forcing her to lose her grip on the scepter. She steadied herself as he swung the scepter at her again, blocking the blow with the Chitauri staff. Under the pressure of his strength, the Chitauri staff broke neatly in two. Aspen looked up at him.

"Why are you doing this?" she asked. "In truth, what is this going to get you? Do you really love seeing humans suffer so much at your hand?"

"Humans suffer everyday at their own hands."

"So this is better?" She dropped the pieces of Chitauri staff. "I'm tired of fighting," she told him. "You can end this now." She didn't flinch as he rested his scepter against her neck. "The people will see you as merciful if you stop the attack."

"And what then? Will your 'Avengers' be merciful if I call off the attack? Will we all have peace together?" His tone was scornful. "I have unfinished business. Perhaps I'll start with your soldier." Aspen tensed and Loki laughed softly. "I touched a nerve, didn't I? What shall I do to him first? Make him watch you die?"

"Leave him out of this," Aspen snapped. "This is between you and me."

"There is _nothing_ between you and me. Whatever delusions you have, you're mistaken. You are so pathetically human."

Aspen's earpiece buzzed and she could hear Clint's voice. "_Captain, the bank on 42__nd_

_past Madison, they caught a lot of civilians there._"

"_I'm on it_," Steve's voice returned.

"Ah, it seems your solider is going to be the next casualty after all," Loki said.

Aspen's blood froze. "What do you mean?"

"What better way to trap a hero than to corner the very civilians he's trying to save?"

Aspen looked at the street sign next to them. The bank was only three blocks away. Aspen felt her desperation building up. Without looking away from the sign, she grabbed the scepter, surprising Loki with her sudden movement and flung all her strength forward, ripping the staff from Loki's grip. He winced, massaging his arm. Aspen now held the staff. "You know what?" she asked. "I look at you and all I see is resentment. The kind of resentment a child shows after not getting something he wants. That's what's pathetic. I almost feel sorry for you. You think everything is going to fall into your hands if you forcibly take it, but that's where you're wrong. You're not fit to rule, and you never will be." Loki looked taken aback by her impassioned speech.

She threw the scepter to the ground. "Don't get in my way," she growled and took off toward 42nd street. Loki didn't try to follow her.

She wasn't paying attention to what was going on around her so when the front of a building exploded to her left, she was flung across the street, crashing painfully into a fallen street sign. Her ears rang, and she felt fresh blood running down her temple. She struggled to her feet, vision blurry and legs unsteady. Bodies were strewn around her, bloody and damaged. A boy who couldn't have been much older than eight lay next to a woman who was probably his mother. Aspen stared at them, the horror pounding in her head. Up until then, the gravity of the disaster hadn't yet struck her. She'd been injured, yes, but she hadn't seen anyone die. People were dying all around her. Innocent people who were probably just out shopping or just got off of school. People with families and jobs and futures that were now impossible because of this invasion. This needed to end. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she thought of Steve and of Loki's threat. She forced herself to keep going, her ears still ringing from the explosion. One of her legs hurt terribly, but she ran on, finally finding the bank Clint had directed Steve to. Another explosion rocked the building, and she saw someone fly out of the window, landing painfully on a car.

"Steve!" she screamed, running as quickly as she could manage to where he lay. He groaned, getting up. He'd lost his helmet somewhere along the line and his right arm was bleeding from a long gash. He got up, stumbling slightly as he ran toward her.

"Aspen! You're bleeding." He caught her face in his hands, wiping away a smudge of blood with his gloved hand.

"I'm fine. I saw you fall. Are you alright?"

"I'll live," he said with a grimace. "What happened? You ran off after Loki. I tried to follow, but things got too bad."

"I fought him. But then I heard Clint tell you about the bank and Loki heard. He said that you were walking into a trap. I thought you were going to die." She was close to tears, and her voice gave that away. Firemen had arrived and were escorting the people Steve had saved out of the bank. Aspen wiped her eyes, trying to calm her breathing.

"I'm here, hey, it's alright," he told her, gently pushing her chin up so that she was looking at him. His blue eyes were calming, and Aspen focused on them. "I'm right here."

"I saw people die, Steve. It should have occurred to me that people were dying, but I hadn't actually seen anyone die. There was a kid…he couldn't have been more than eight." She broke off, a tear leaking from her eye. "So many people aren't going to make it through this…"

"We're going to end this," Steve promised her. "We're going to get that portal shut and no one else will have to get hurt."

"How?"

"I'm not sure." He looked past her, and she saw the worry in his eyes. "We've got more Chitauri coming in. Are you alright to keep fighting?" He frowned at her wounds. "Maybe you should sit this one out-"

"No." She shook off his concern. "I'm going to fight."

He placed a hand on her shoulder. "Together?"

"Together," she agreed.

…

She lost track of how long they fought or how many Chitauri they took down. At some point Thor joined them but even still they were overwhelmed. Thor threw his hammer while Steve threw his shield. Aspen fired her guns until she ran out of bullets and reverted to her knives. Now as Steve flung his shield, turning to catch it again, a Chitauri fired straight at his chest. To Aspen's horror, the shot struck him to the ground.

"Steve!" She raised her knife and took the Chitauri down before flinging herself down next to Steve. Thor heaved his hammer into a car, sending it summersaulting into the remaining Chitauri. Steve started to get up. Aspen could tell that he was hurt. Thor offered him a hand and heaved him to his feet. The front of Steve's uniform was ripped, and she could see a bloody singe mark where the energy blast had hit him. He winced in pain.

"Ready for another bout?" Thor asked.

"What? You getting sleepy?" Steve said with a half-hearted smile.

"We can't keep doing this forever," Aspen said. The look in Steve's eyes said that he knew that. Before they could do anything more, Natasha's voice came in through their earpieces.

"I can close it! Can anybody hear me? I can shut the portal down!" Aspen's heart skipped a beat at the spy's words.

"Do it!" Steve returned emphatically.

"No, wait!" Tony's voice came.

"Stark, these things are still coming," Steve told him.

"I've got a nuke coming in. It's gonna blow in less than a minute, and I know right where to put it."

They were silent for a moment as his words sunk in. Who the hell had sent a nuke? Aspen felt panic rising in her again.

"Stark, you know that's a one way trip?" Steve asked. Aspen looked anxiously up at the sky. After a moment they could see the red armor of the Iron Man suit high up above them heading toward the portal. Aspen's mind was whirling. Who thought that a nuke was less destruction than Loki's army? It might eliminate the threat – maybe – but it would eliminate everyone else in the city too. Even then the portal would still be open. The Tesseract might react violently to the threat and implode again like it did in Santa Fe – the destruction could be catastrophic to the eastern coast. They watched Tony enter the portal and waited with baited breath for him to appear again. Suddenly the Chitauri fell to the ground around them like marionettes cut from their strings. The leviathans did the same, heaving over mid-flight. Aspen watched, not quite believing that they were dead.

Finally Thor nodded to Steve and the Captain said, "Close it," to Natasha.

Whatever Natasha did, the portal began to close in on itself. They watched as the opening grew smaller and smaller. Just before it closed completely, a red and gold figure fell out of the bottom.

"Son of a gun," Steve said.

"He made it." Aspen felt relieved. Tony Stark might not be her favorite person, but he had chosen to take the nuke into the portal knowing well that he might not come back.

"He's not slowing down," Thor said. He started swinging his hammer in preparation to fly up and grab Tony but the Hulk beat him to it, coming out of nowhere and jumping off of buildings to grab the prone Iron Man. He rolled to a landing before them, tossing Tony facedown on the pavement. Thor and Steve ran over, flipping him onto his back. Thor ripped off his helmet. Aspen hovered a few feet away, watching Tony's still face. She couldn't tell if he was still breathing or not. She jumped out of her skin when the Hulk gave a tremendous roar. Tony started awake.

"What the hell?" he said. "What just happened? Please tell me nobody kissed me." Aspen rolled her eyes. Yep, he was alright.

"We won," Steve said, letting out a breath. Aspen looked up at him, meeting his smile with one of her own. It was over. She felt a calmness wash over her despite the amount of destruction that lay around her. In that moment they had won, and that was what mattered.

"Alright. Hey. Alright. Good job, guys," Tony cheered wearily. "Let's just not come in tomorrow. Let's just take a day. Have you ever tried shawarma? There's a shawarma joint about two blocks from here. I don't know what it is, but I wanna try it." Aspen realized how starving she was now that he mentioned food. She couldn't remember the last time she'd actually eaten.

Thor looked up at Stark Tower. "We're not finished yet," he said. Aspen's heart gave a jolt. Loki. Was he up there? What was he thinking now that his army was gone? He had lost and now he would have to pay for his crimes. Why was a part of her fearing his punishment? After all the destruction he had caused, she still didn't want to see him die.

"And then shawarma after," Tony cut into her thoughts.

"You don't have to go up if you don't want to face him," Steve told Aspen quietly as Thor helped Tony to his feet. Aspen almost took him up on his offer.

"No," she finally said. "I need to do this."

He gave her a nod and then offered her an arm to lean on. Her leg was hurting terribly, and she leaned heavily on him as they headed toward Stark Tower. Having him beside her forced away her remaining anxieties, and she focused on his soft breathing and the warmth of his arm. Everything was going to be alright. They had won.


	31. Parting Ways

**Author's Note: **Two more chapters. I can't believe how quickly I wrote this. One month. That's a record for me. It's nearly 103,000 words which is like a book. That probably speaks to the levels of stress life has been providing me with lately because I tend to obsessively write when I'm stressed. I got called for Jury Duty this week - yay for being an adult! Fortunately my panel got moved to Wednesday, so I don't have to miss 6 hours of work tomorrow!

Thank you as always for favorites and follows! (And for that wonderful review on the last chapter! Totally made my day again!)

**Hint #6: **Aspen and Steve get kidnapped by an enemy organization. We'll get to see the effects of the Superhero Serum first hand during this time.

* * *

**27 – Parting Ways – May 4, 2012**

The events that took place in New York were on the news nonstop for many days to come. Aspen put her mind to rest knowing that Loki was not going anywhere. He was imprisoned in SHIELD's secure lock up only this time extra precautions had been taken. There would be no repeat of the Helicarrier.

After being checked over and bandaged by SHIELD medics after the battle, Aspen followed Steve to his motorcycle. They'd both showered in the locker rooms, washing away the grime and blood from the battle. Aspen didn't think she'd ever get the blood and ash out of her hair but eventually, after the water had run a horrible reddish grey, she'd washed it clean. Steve drove her home wordlessly, both of them too exhausted to talk about what they had just been through. He walked her upstairs, and she invited him in. They sat down on her loveseat, both completely weary and overwhelmed. They didn't talk for a long time, and Aspen almost forgot he was there. She was thinking back to Loki and the look he'd given her when they had confronted him in Tony's tower. It had surprised her when she hadn't felt a rush of hatred for him. Resentment and anger yes, but not hatred. After everything he'd done, how could she still not hate him?

"I suppose I should get going before I fall asleep from exhaustion," Steve said, making to get up.

"Will you stay here tonight?" Aspen asked quickly. "I have a spare room. I just…I just can't be alone after that. I keep seeing the destruction, the death."

"Of course." He gave her a sympathetic look. "Some nights after fighting in the war…I just couldn't sleep and when I did, I'd have nightmares. I still do sometimes."

"How did you get through it?" Aspen asked.

"I just kept going. Eventually the shock wears off, but I can't guarantee the scars will ever fully heal," he told her.

"How can we be sure this will never happen again?" she asked.

"We can't. Loki's going back to Asgard tomorrow though. I have a feeling we won't be seeing him again." He watched her carefully, but she was too tired to think about Loki anymore. She stood.

"The spare bedroom is right there." She pointed to it. "Thank you for staying."

"Of course. Sleep well."

Aspen left her door open a crack, pulling on her most comfortable pajamas and slipping into her bed. She lay awake for hours with her eyes wide open, watching the minutes tick by in violent red characters that reminded her of blood. The blood blossoming on the people's chests after the explosion. At some point her thoughts turned into nightmares, and she thrashed around in her bed. There was an explosion, the ringing in her ears nearly deafening. She saw the boy lying on the ground next to his mother. His eyes were glass that reflected the portal high above him though he could no longer see it. Had his fear died with him? She turned and found herself face to face with Loki. He brought his scepter to her heart, and she found that her feet wouldn't move, wouldn't flee. He pressed the tip of the scepter against her, and she felt her free will leaving her. The world went hazy and then too sharp in omnipresent colors.

"Now you are mine," Loki whispered into her ear, lips tickling her neck. She could only stand and wait for him to tell her what to do. "Kneel," he told her, stepping back. His blue eyes flashed. "Kneel!"

She tried to struggle, but found herself dropping to her knees before him.

"Is this not so much easier?" he asked. "Now you know peace."

"No!" Aspen cried out, thrashing around in her sleep. She felt hands on her shoulders and struggled, thinking it was Loki come back for her.

"Aspen, _Aspen_, wake up!" she heard a familiar voice call out to her. She stopped struggling and wretched her eyes open. Steve was standing above her, eyes filled with worry. "You were having a nightmare," he said. "I heard you cry out."

Aspen sat up, panting hard. She tried to fight back her tears, but they came anyway. She began to sob. "It was horrible," she managed to get out.

Steve sat down next to her, his arms around her in an instant, strong and comforting. She buried her face in his chest, clenching her fists around his shirt. "It's okay, I'm here," he told her, his voice hushed. "No one is going to hurt you." She tried to calm her sobbing.

"Loki…he was there," she said. "He took control of my mind." She fought back the image of her kneeling. "He took control of _me_."

"That's never going to happen. No one is ever going to take over your mind," he told her softly, looking down at her. "I promise." She nodded.

"Will you stay with me awhile?" she asked. He nodded and readjusted a little so that he could lie next to her. She curled up against his side, and his arm rested around her shoulder. She could feel his heart beating steadily under her head and, before she knew it, she was fast asleep.

…

When Aspen awoke, she was confused for a moment as to why she was lying next to someone. She turned her head and saw that Steve had fallen asleep next to her. He was still fast asleep, his head inches from hers. His arm was around her, rested loosely on her waist, and she tried not to wake him while she checked the time on her clock. Fury had told them to meet at noon to see Loki and Thor off. The clock read 10:15, and Aspen was shocked that she had slept that long. She didn't remember having any more nightmares during the night.

Steve's breathing was slow and even, and she smiled at him, resting her head back down on his shoulder. She hadn't felt this comfortable around someone since…ever, she realized. Ever since her parents vanished at least, she hadn't been comfortable around anyone. Clint, yes, but there was always that element of secrecy when it came to SHIELD. Clint couldn't share his missions with her unless they were in it together, and she still didn't know everything about him. He'd never fully opened up about his past with her despite the fact that he knew everything about her. With Steve she felt like there were no walls, no secrets. He had always been open with her. She tried to be open with him. It had taken her awhile to open up about the Winter Incident, but she had come around to that eventually. With him, she felt as if she was actually a human being and not just an agent working for a secret organization full of spies. She could just be Aspen and not Agent Tolvar.

But would she be able to keep this up when she went back to work? Could she go back to just being Aspen? She sat up, her mind swimming. After what she had been through, what she had seen… She realized she didn't want to see that ever again. She didn't want to see people get hurt, didn't want to fight, didn't want to sneak around anymore.

She heard Steve stir next to her. She looked down to see him open his eyes and look up at her. His cheeks flushed a little when he realized that he had fallen asleep next to her. "I'm turning in my resignation today," she said.

"What?" He looked up at her, brow furrowed in confusion.

"To SHIELD. I don't want to be an agent anymore. I just want to study science and conduct my own experiments. After yesterday…" She couldn't finish her thought.

Steve sat up, his shoulder brushing hers. She looked over at him. "That's your decision to make."

"Am I just overreacting?" she asked. "I know I'm shaken over what happened."

"We all are."

"But I just realized that this isn't the direction I wanted my life to go. I'm not a soldier, I'm not a spy. I was a smuggler, and that's not something to be proud of. Science is something that I want to pursue, but not as an agent."

"I don't think you're overreacting. You know what you want out of life."

"Do I?" she asked, looking at him.

"You want a safe, normal life. Like how it used to be."

"That was a long time ago. I can't remember having a safe and normal life. But you're right. I do want that. Why do I feel like once I'm in, I can't ever leave?"

"You always have that choice," he told her. "No one's controlling you."

She nodded. "Thank you."

"For what?" he asked, tilting his head to the side.

"For listening, for letting me sob into your shirt, for staying here when I needed someone. You never ask for anything in return, you just give."

"I don't need anything in return. Your friendship is enough," he told her. "It's hard being alone in the world, but ever since I woke up, I haven't had to be. Because of you."

Aspen smiled. "What now? You have your life to live. You could go anywhere, do anything."

"I like it here," he said, his eyes on her. Her cheeks warmed under his gaze.

"Good," she said with a smile. Her smile faded as she thought back to her nightmare. "There's something I need to do this morning. I need to talk to Loki." Steve looked down at her, alarm dancing in his eyes. "I need closure," Aspen continued. "If I don't put this to rest, the nightmares aren't going to stop."

Steve looked pensive for a moment, then he nodded. "If you're sure. I don't want to see you get hurt again though."

"He can't hurt me anymore," she said. "I need to do this for me."

"I'll come with you."

"This is something I need to do alone," she said gently. "But thank you."

Steve sighed. "At least let me drive you."

…

When they arrived at SHIELD headquarters, Aspen found her way down to the detention block to where Loki was being held. Steve grudgingly waited for her upstairs. Four SHIELD agents were on guard, but to her surprise, they let her in without question, even giving her a moment of privacy with the fallen demi-god. He looked up when she entered the room. The cuts on his face hadn't yet healed fully, but Aspen imagined he healed at a faster rate than humans. She had bandages on both her leg and arm and still bore cuts and scrapes on her face. As she reached Loki's cell, she stopped before the glass. He turned to survey her.

"I didn't expect to see you again," he said calmly.

"Yes, well, we have unfinished business."

"Do we now?"

"I told you they wouldn't follow you," she said. "If you had just listened to me, it would have saved you a lot of trouble."

Instead of being furious like she had expected, he actually smiled at her. "That would have been too easy," he said. "And I wouldn't have gotten what I wanted."

"A throne, no, but you wouldn't have pissed off so many people. The acceptance you so craved isn't going to be possible on Earth. I kind of doubt your family is going to be too happy with you either. Thor cares about you even still, you know. I can tell when he looks at you. You're still his brother. Why can't you embrace that?"

Loki looked as if he was going to argue, but then he sat down on the narrow cot in the cell, too weary to retort. "After all this and you're still telling me to go back to my family. Why?" he asked, narrowing his eyes at her.

"Because you're unhappy."

"And family will make me happy?"

"At least you still have a family. Mine might as well be dead since they haven't bothered to find me. You shouldn't waste that."

Instead of coming up with some snide comment, Loki got up and walked up to the glass wall of the cell. Aspen stood her ground, but she stiffened, remembering her nightmare. "You do have a family," he told her. "Just look around you. The solider and Agent Barton. They care a great deal for you."

"It's not the same."

Loki pressed a hand against the glass. "After all I did to you, why are you here? Why not just leave me to rot in this cell and never see me again?"

"Thor is taking you back to Asgard today. I _won't_ ever see you again."

"So this is your goodbye?"

"After all we've been through together, don't you think we should say goodbye?" she asked.

He was silent, and she thought for a moment that he wasn't going to speak to her, then he said, "Do you know why I couldn't kill you? Why I could never kill you?"

"No."

"Because you weren't just another nameless human," he said. "Somehow when it came down to it, I just couldn't destroy the one piece of humanity that wasn't corrupt. The one piece that actually made sense." Aspen stood, her mouth opening slightly in surprise. "Perhaps I found my weakness," he added softly.

"I don't trust you," Aspen told him. Hurt darted behind his eyes, but it was gone so quickly she thought she must have imagined it.

"I deserve that," he said.

"How can I know if you're telling me the truth?" Aspen asked him. "I want to believe you, but I learned my lesson this winter."

"I have nothing to hide now," he said. "I'm going back to Asgard to await judgment."

"What will they do to you?" she asked.

"Kill me or imprison me for life." He didn't seem too upset by the prospect but then again he had always been an excellent actor.

"That sounds awful."

"I suppose I deserve it."

"I suppose you do. But that doesn't mean I want you to die."

"Even after all the pain I caused you, your friends, your home? After all that you still won't condemn me to death?"

"I don't believe in villains," she told him. "Just good and bad choices."

"You told me that once before. You also said you didn't believe in heroes, but that might have changed."

She smiled a little. "A hero doesn't have to be someone with superhuman abilities," she told him. "Just someone willing to fight for good."

"So someone like you."

"What?" He looked dead serious. She laughed nervously. "I'm not a hero."

"You're willing to fight for good, as you put it. You've got the battle scars to prove it."

"I'm not a hero," Aspen repeated. "I was just trying to do the right thing."

"Suit yourself."

"Agent Tolvar, Captain Rogers is looking for you," one of the guards interrupted. "They're getting ready to transfer the prisoner."

"Just give me a moment. Tell him I'll be right up." The guard nodded and left the room again.

"Wouldn't want to keep your soldier waiting," Loki said, his tone slightly spiteful. He began to pace.

"He's not _my_ soldier." She hesitated to leave knowing that this was the last chance she would get to speak to him. "Look, what happened before, this winter…" He stopped his pacing to look at her. "…it was real to me whether it was real to your or not. I can't help the way I felt. I liked your sarcasm and the way you always seemed to get a rise out of me. The way you'd get so spiteful and then do something surprisingly nice for me." She paused. "Maybe we're more alike than I thought," she said finally. "We're both stubborn and sometimes hard to deal with. We've both lost family." She met his eyes, hoping that she wasn't completely off the mark. "I guess I felt a connection, and I think you did too."

Her words were met with silence, but she saw that his eyes were not so hard as they were the last time they had spoken. He seemed to be mulling over what she had said. "I realize now that it was a lie, but you did mean something to me," she concluded.

"But not anymore?"

"I've asked myself that over and over since you came back. I suppose I wouldn't be here right now if I didn't care at all. I did see the good in you; I still don't see someone evil when I look at you. Not at heart. The rest of New York might not agree with me, but I don't think you're evil."

He was silent for a long moment and then, "When I first came to Earth, I expected to find weak humans, but instead you found me and in my own weakness, I let myself feel something utterly human." Aspen felt her pulse quicken. "I couldn't allow that, so I buried it deep inside of me and made sure you'd hate me. But you never did seem to actually hate me."

"I don't hate you, just what you did."

"Well it's over now. I'll be out of your life, and you can forget this ever happened." He turned away.

"I don't think that's possible," she said. "I want you to never forget something. Can you promise me that?"

"And what's that?" He turned back to look at her.

"That there is good in you. Maybe some day you can try to get acceptance that way." He seemed to take in her words. "Goodbye, Loki," she said.

He pressed his hand to the glass again, and this time she pressed her hand against his, wishing for a moment that there wasn't a sheet of glass between them. Then she pulled her hand away. "Good luck," she said before turning to leave.

"Goodbye," Loki said softly behind her. Aspen didn't look back as she left, nodding to the guards and making her way up to where Steve was waiting.

…

They rode to Central Park on Steve's motorcycle, Aspen's cheek pressed against the leather of his jacket. He hadn't asked what had been said between her and Loki, but she could see the worry in his eyes and feel the tension in his body. She'd just nodded to let him know she was all right, and that had been the end of that.

Fury and the others were arriving as they pulled up. Tony drove up in a flashy sports car, and Natasha and Clint arrived together in a SHIELD car. Clint gave Aspen a nod, his eyes hidden behind shades. Doctor Banner was there as well. Aspen smiled shyly at him, and he returned the smile. Thor was saying goodbye to Eric Selvig who was now free of Loki's mind control. Loki stood handcuffed and muzzled. His eyes went to Aspen at once. There was a mischievous twinkle in them as he surveyed her. Aspen gave him a little nod and he returned the gesture. Steve's tension was perceivable, and Aspen touched his arm to let him know that it was all right. Loki's eyes followed the gesture.

The Tesseract was transferred to a glass container that Thor held out to Loki. The trickster took the other end, and the two disappeared in a blue rush of energy. Aspen felt a surge of emotion watching them vanish. She wanted to hate herself for feeling that, but somehow she couldn't. Fitting, she thought, that Fury had picked Central Park for this. Where she found Loki and where she watched him go.

The group parted ways, and Aspen found herself feeling a little sad even though she would still be seeing most of them. Steve shook hands with Tony, and when the billionaire turned to Aspen, he gave her an apologetic grin.

"We got him in the end," he said. "Sorry about the remarks on the Helicarrier."

Aspen smiled. "It's alright," she said. "It's over. All of it."

"No hard feelings?" he asked.

"No hard feelings." They shook hands, and he walked off with Doctor Banner to his sports car. Clint came and gave Aspen a hug before walking off with Natasha. The redhead threw a smile back at Aspen and Steve before following. Aspen turned to Steve.

"I'm going to talk to Fury," she said. He nodded.

"Good luck." He stood next to his bike, waiting for her as she approached Fury. He turned to her.

"We never did have that chat," he said.

Aspen nodded. "I know. I'm sorry. I just couldn't sit by while Clint was in danger. He means a lot to me. They all do," she realized. She smiled back at Steve. "I know what I did in December was wrong. I should have turned Loki in the second I found him in Central Park. I think too much with my heart sometimes. I want to see the best in people, to trust them. Despite everything I've been through, I still can't seem to stop trying to trust people."

"What you did," Fury said, "breaking into Captain Rogers's apartment, looking at confidential information, sneaking onto the Helicarrier…it was what a true agent would do."

His words shocked Aspen. "Really?" she asked.

"You might have disobeyed orders, but you were doing what you thought right. You were protecting your own and trying to set things right. Barton tells me how well you did in the battle."

"I mostly got hurt," she said.

"He says you single-handedly saved a group of trapped civilians."

"With Steve's help."

"The point is, I'm willing to overlook your mistakes this winter after what happened these last few days. I'd like to reinstate you as a full agent, not just lab work. Level four."

"Oh." Aspen hadn't been expecting this.

"Is that not what you want?" he asked.

"I'm not sure what I want," Aspen said truthfully. "I thought I wanted to be an agent, thought I wanted to see the action, but after yesterday…I'm not sure anymore. It shook me up – probably shook us all up, but I'm not ready to see something like that again."

"None of us are," he told her.

"There is something I would like to do though," Aspen said. "Finals are next week, and then I'm out of school. I want to go to Portland and try to follow my parents' clues like we discussed before. Maybe focusing on that for awhile will help me make my decision about SHIELD."

"I think that sounds like a reasonable plan," he told her. "You have my permission."

"Thank you, sir. Steve said he would come with me."

"Captain Rogers doesn't currently have a contract with SHIELD," Fury told her. "If that's what he wishes, then I'm not going to stop him."

"I'll let you know what I find in Portland," she said. "My parents were on the verge of discovering something incredible. I can't let that fall into enemy hands." She thought of her own serum which she had no way of tracking.

"I don't doubt it," Fury said. "There are a few organizations who would love to get their hands on it. I'll send some information to your apartment. There are a few people you should know about before you go."

"Thank you, sir," Aspen said. "That would be helpful."

She nodded a goodbye to Fury and rejoined Steve. "What did he say?" Steve asked.

"He wanted to reinstate me…as a level four agent. I just don't know what I want anymore, but I realized I shouldn't make a fast decision. Yesterday was too much, but that doesn't mean I'll ever have to live through something like that again if I continue working for SHIELD. Did you still want to come with me to Portland?" she asked.

"Of course," he said. "I did promise."

Aspen smiled. "I'm done with school in a week. I'll book our flight. I told Fury I'd make my decision afterwards."

"I look forward to it."

"So now that we're not fighting against an alien invasion, I think we should focus on getting you caught up on a few things. Such as movies," Aspen said. "After a difficult mission, I always sit and watch movies. Eat some junk food. It's a way to take my mind off of things. Are you up for that?"

"Sure," he agreed easily. "My film experience includes about two movies."

"Where to start, where to start?" she muttered with a grin. She climbed behind him on the motorcycle, and they drove away from Central Park. The damage to the city was still a big ugly reminder of what had happened the day before, but Steve took a winding route that kept them away from the destruction as much as possible. Aspen couldn't help feeling guilty every time she saw the ruin that Loki's army had wrought. Luckily her apartment had been far away from the battle.

They sat down in her living room with a bowl of popcorn, and Aspen gave him three choices. "Indiana Jones – adventure and treasure hunting, The Lord of the Rings – elves, dwarves, fantasy battles, or Star Wars – that one involves aliens, but the Jedis take care of that."

Steve looked a little dazed. "Umm, whatever you'd like to watch," he offered.

Aspen ended up picking Indiana Jones. She flopped down on the loveseat next to him and dipped her hand into the popcorn. She was still exhausted from the events from yesterday and lay her head against Steve's shoulder. He didn't tense at all as if he didn't even notice. For the first time in five days, Aspen relaxed.


	32. Trust

**Author's Note: ****5/27/14 **This is it. This is the last chapter. I can't believe we're here already! I really hope you've enjoyed my first story in my Steve and Aspen series. Please take some time to let me know what you thought! A thousand thanks to everyone who has stuck with the story! You are **amazing!** The sequel will tie together loose ends and answer questions. And I promise something will actually happen between Steve and Aspen. They're just too shy, those two. I have had a blast writing this. I've learned so much about the Marvel universe, both comic and cinematic. I can actually explain _The Avengers_ play by play now. I couldn't do that a month ago. Heck, a year ago I hadn't even seen a Marvel movie. Thanks to my bff for setting me straight.

Wow, I get to mark another story complete. The longest it's taken me to finish a story is three years (and it's not even that long.) The shortest, a year. So finishing this in a month shows just how excited I was about it. (It's like 50,000+ words longer than my average fanfic too) And that excitement transfers over to the sequel to be sure. _A Game of Enemies_ will be coming out soon. Anyway, thank you! It's been fun! I can't wait to see where the sequel takes us! I'm working on the second chapter right now!

Alright. Another clue.

**Hint #7: **If everything plays out the way I want it to, we will get to see further into Clint's background when a mysterious person shows up from his past. He'll have to finally open up to Aspen about parts of his past he's kept from her. (Also he's going to be the one to tell Aspen to get together with Steve already. :D )

"It's painful watching you two tiptoe around your feelings for each other when its so obvious to everyone else." - Clint, _A Game of Enemies_

* * *

**28 – Trust – May 6, 2012**

Aspen met Clint in his park the next day. She hadn't planned it, but she knew where he would be when he didn't pick up his phone. He was sitting on the same bench they had sat on when Aspen had first told him about Loki and her mistake. He didn't look up when she sat down next to him. She slid her hand under his where it rested on his leg, and they sat in silence for a long minute.

"Why can't I shake this?" he asked finally. When he met her eyes, Aspen was frightened to see that his eyes were glossy. She had never seen Clint break down before.

"What happened to you was the highest form of invasion," she told him. "But none of what happened was your fault." She felt a stab of guilt. She should hate Loki for what he had done to Clint. She did hate that he'd done that. It was the highest form of betrayal, but she didn't hate him. She would never forgive him for it though.

"Sometimes I was almost aware of myself," he told her. "The wrongness of what I was doing struck me, but I couldn't do anything about it."

"You're strong; you were fighting," she told him.

"Not strong enough, it seems."

"No one was strong enough."

"What about you?" Clint asked, meeting her eyes. His own grey ones were no longer glossy, but she could see the haunted look behind them.

"Me?"

"In those times you confronted him, did he ever try to take over your mind?"

"He did. Once. I fought it off though. I think it was something my parents injected me with as a child – the same thing that helped me fight off the Chitauri's mind control. You must think I'm despicable for ever having felt something for him," she said. This had been bothering her.

He looked down at her, grey eyes serious. "I could never despise you," he said. "You didn't know this would happen. Rogers told me how much you fought for me. I appreciate that." He squeezed her hand.

"It wasn't enough though. I could have prevented this."

"Don't do that, Pen. Don't beat yourself up about it. What you did was nothing compared to what I did, the lives I took…" he broke off looking defeated.

"That wasn't you, that was Loki," Aspen told him.

"Nat told me the same thing."

"You should listen to her."

"It's just going to take some time."

"It will take time for all of us," she said softly. "You know I'm always here, through everything. If you need to talk or just sit."

"Thanks, Pen," he said.

"You're welcome." She rested her head on his shoulder, and he relaxed a little.

"Remember how I told you that your humanity was your greatest gift?" he asked a moment later.

"Yeah, I bet you're rethinking that now."

"No. It's incredible how you can see the good in people even when they're at their worst."

"But Loki nearly destroyed New York. What kind of naïve idiot sees the good in a person like that?"

"No, I'm being serious, Pen. He had a lot of chances to kill you, but he never did. You were the one person he couldn't ever seem to harm. He liked you. You could see the good in him, and you never wavered from that even in his darkest moments."

"I'm not sure what you're getting at. You're not sounding like yourself."

Clint laughed. "No? Well, maybe my brain still is a little addled. I'm just saying, you shouldn't ever lose that goodness. You're one of a kind. Not a lot of agents still have that anymore."

"So despite everything that Loki did, you're saying that it was a good thing that I kept trying to find the good in him?"

"I'd like to think that if I strayed off the path, you'd be there to help me get back on it. Your willingness to fight for someone, even a ghost of someone, is what makes you you. Just don't ever lose that."

Aspen contemplated his words for a long time. "We parted on good terms," she told him finally. "At least I think we did."

"He should be grateful that you showed him that kindness."

"I'm not sure he cared enough."

"I think he cared more than you think." Clint didn't elaborate, and she didn't ask him to.

"I told Fury I'm thinking about leaving SHIELD," Aspen said, filling in the silence.

Clint was quiet for a moment. "I wondered," he said after a minute.

"What?"

"This isn't a job, Pen, it's a life, and it's not the life you wanted."

"I don't know what I want anymore."

"Exactly. This job has got you so muddled and turned around that you don't see a future for yourself outside of it."

"I'd like to."

"All you have to do is take it."

"It's not that easy. What if I'm in too deep?" she asked.

"You haven't made enemies like the rest of us have, you haven't learned to crave danger. You still have a chance at a normal life."

"A semi-normal life?"

He smiled. "No, a real normal life. What about Rogers? I saw you two on the Quinjet before we got to New York. What's between the two of you? A lot seems to have happened while I was under."

"Nothing. I was assigned to help him settle in, and we got to be good friends. That's all." He grinned at her. "I swear!" She pushed him playfully. "After Loki…" She shook her head.

"He's not Loki," Clint told her. "Far from it."

"I know. I just need to focus on other things right now. Like my parents. I'm going to Portland in a week. I cleared it with Fury. I need to follow whatever clues my parents left me. I just know there's something I need to find out there. Starting at home seemed the best plan. Steve's coming with me."

"I think that's a good plan. You need something else to occupy your mind," Clint told her.

"What about you?"

"Me?"

"You need something to distract you too."

"I'll be fine. Nat and I will be back on missions before you know it." He shook his head. "It's just going to take some time."

"I know."

"Don't worry about me, Pen. I can take care of myself. You should be studying for finals."

Aspen sighed. "How can I think about finals after what we just went through?"

"I'm not sure, but it will be a lot easier than what we just did."

"That is the truth." She leaned her head back to stare up at the blue sky. "Sometimes I'm jealous of people with normal lives, but then I realize I wasn't ever going to escape this life, not with my parents' research and my own curiosity."

"Don't write this life off too quickly," Clint told her. "What's normal to one person is completely different for another." Aspen contemplated his words.

"Do you want to come help me study?" she asked after a moment, getting up and stretching her legs.

"Maybe I'll swing by later. I think I'll sit for awhile longer," Clint told her.

"Alright." She leaned down and kissed his cheek. "See you later."

…

Aspen received a text from Clint later that afternoon telling her that he was working late at SHIELD trying to undo some of the damage Loki had caused. Aspen set aside her new phone and picked up her textbook again. After two hours of studying, she felt somewhat prepared. She knew the material; it was just a matter of knowing what she was going to need for the tests. She reread the notes she'd made in the margins and then called it good, setting aside her materials. She pulled out her laptop and started making flight reservations for the following week. She booked two seats on the 10:15 flight feeling a surge of nerves at the thought of finally going home. She felt like she was so close to something big, but she had no idea what to expect. True to his word, Fury had sent a packet of information on enemy organizations to her apartment. She'd studied up on them, finding several mentions of research that went along the same lines as both her parents' research and the Super Soldier Serum. Wherever her parents' research was, she needed to make sure that she found it first. If it wasn't already in the wrong hands…

She picked up her phone and texted Steve their flight plan. She'd bought him a cell phone the same time she'd bought her new one, teaching him the basics and watching, amused, as he fumbled with it. It took him fifteen minutes to reply, and she couldn't help but grin at his response.

_I'll be there. Steve_

_PS, how is this easier than talking in person? I'm not sure I get it. _

She texted back: _Come over, and we can talk in person._

Ten minutes later she heard the muffled roar of his motorcycle. She smiled, meeting him at her door. "Not bad," she said. "You've successfully communicated via texting. Although it took you longer to text me back than to actually get here."

He winced. "I'm not sure I'll ever get used to wireless phones." He sat next to her, pulling her notes toward him. He frowned as he glanced at her Advanced Astrophysics notes. "Is this in English?" he asked.

"Yes, believe it or not. I've got my first final tomorrow morning. It's really hard concentrating on school after everything that's happened. It seems surreal that the world just moves on afterwards… Not that everyone has moved on. The damage alone is going to take months if not years to repair."

"How are you going to explain your cuts and bruises?" Steve asked.

"Car accident," she told him. "I was driving with someone when the attack happened. I got lucky. So far I haven't seen myself on the news. You certainly have been though. All of you. You're a national hero now, everyone wants to meet you."

Steve frowned. "I've never been comfortable with being an icon," he said. "I don't want people ogling over me."

"Not even all the girls?" she teased him, smiling wider when his ears reddened.

"Especially not the girls. They don't know the real me. All that attention just isn't necessary. I was just doing my duty."

"Always the soldier. Don't worry. Your secret's safe with me. You can just be Steve Rogers for now. I wouldn't suggest going out into crowded public places without a disguise though. Not for the next few years."

He grimaced. "That bad, huh?"

"Media has expanded and gotten a lot nosier since your time. It's best to keep a low profile until this blows over."

"Maybe in Portland I won't be recognized."

Aspen smiled. "Captain, you're famous. I have a feeling that there isn't a corner of the world right now you wouldn't be recognized. But as long as you're not wearing your spangled suit, I think we'll be okay."

"I'll stick to street clothes," he agreed. "Are you nervous?"

"A little. It's just exciting and frightening at the same time thinking that I might finally learn something more about my parents. I've been chasing around pieces of the puzzle for so long now, and this will be the first time I've really had a chance to pursue it. But I shouldn't be worried, I've got Captain America by my side to keep me safe." She nudged his knee with hers, grinning.

He smiled back. "You can take care of yourself," he told her. "But I'm glad I'm coming."

"Thank you," Aspen said, turning serious again. "You didn't have to come with me, but you didn't even hesitate."

"I know how much this means to you. I want to help. I lost my family early on, my best friend…everyone really. You have the chance of finding your family. I'll do everything within my power to see that you do find them."

Aspen felt choked up at his words. She reached out and took his hand. "That means more than I can say," she told him. "If there's anything I can do for you, ever, you don't even have to ask. You've lost so much, I wish I could fix what happened in the past so you didn't have to suffer so much."

"If all that hadn't happened, I never would have met you," he said, his blue eyes earnest.

Aspen blushed, smiling. "Maybe it was meant to be," she suggested.

"I think so."

"But in all seriousness, you need to call Peggy," Aspen said, releasing his hand and shuffling her school papers.

"Yeah? Maybe I will. When we get back. I'd be good to hear her voice."

"She'd be happy to hear from you. I know it."

"It's just going to be a shock. I mean, I know time moved on without me, but I haven't actually seen or spoken to anyone from my time."

"It'd be surreal," Aspen agreed. "But it's part of accepting and moving on."

"You're right." He looked over at her. "Are you done studying?" he asked.

"I think so. I'm about as prepared as I can be."

"You did say that there were more of those movies we watched, didn't you?" he asked. "Maybe we both need a distraction."

Aspen grinned. "Yes, I did," she said. "Temple of Doom it is. The perfect distraction before a stressful week." She put the DVD in and curled up next to Steve, pulling her legs up under her. With her arm leaning against his, Aspen felt safe and comfortable. She noticed a big difference in the way he held himself compared to the first time she'd met him. He'd been so cautious, so tense. Now he was relaxed, his caution replaced by trust. It meant the world to Aspen that he trusted her. She knew in that moment that she trusted him without a doubt. Trust didn't come easy to her, and she'd let down her guard too often in the past, but she knew that Steve would never hurt her.

Aspen's phone buzzed from the table, and Aspen leaned down to look at the caller. It was a blocked number. She frowned, pausing the movie. "Let me take this." She accepted the call. "Hello?" she asked into the phone.

There was static and a long pause. She could hear someone breathing. "Aspen?" a voice came over the line.

"Who is this?" Aspen asked, sitting up. Steve tensed beside her.

"It's so good to hear your voice. I saw the coverage of New York. I just had to make sure you were alright," the voice said. There was something familiar about the voice, but Aspen couldn't place it.

"How do you know where I am?" she demanded.

"It's been so long, of course you don't recognize my voice." There was a sadness to the voice that Aspen recognized. She could hardly think over the trembling in her heart. It couldn't be. Not after all these years.

She took a deep breath and asked, "Mom? Is that you?"


	33. Epilogue

**Epilogue – May 6, 2012**

**Unknown Location**

"It's done," Ava Tolvar said, turning to the man holding a gun to her head. "She knows that I'm still alive. Seems she already knew." She itched to knock the gun out of the man's hand, hold it against his own head until he told her where her husband was, until he released her and let her find her daughter. He was going to bring Aspen straight to him though. She knew it was only a matter of time before her daughter figured out just where Ava was and how to find her. That's what he was counting on after all. She had refused to make the call at first, but he had threatened Aspen, threatened Gregor. She'd tried to hint, to warn Aspen, but with a gun to her head, she couldn't say what she needed to.

"Good. I hope we'll see her soon. Of course I'll be seeing her in the next few days. I've got a flight back to New York leaving in an hour." He checked his watch with a frown. "Back and forth, back and forth. I'll be happy when this guise is over with. You have no idea how hard it is to keep up the pretense when I'm really a mad scientist waiting to make his next step toward world domination." He chuckled at his own joke. Ava wasn't sure he was joking though. He had moved the gun away from her head, so she turned around to face him.

"I already told you, I won't complete the serum."

"Ah, but your daughter will under the right pressure. Or you might when I have a gun to _her_ head."

Ava scowled at him. "You're a monster," she told him.

He put a hand to his heart, feigning hurt. "After all I've done for you?"

"You mean done _to_ me. Just leave Aspen out of this. She doesn't have all the pieces. She can't complete the formula."

"Ah, but she does have all the pieces. Or at least she will once she reaches Portland. I'm counting on that. She's got your brains, you know. Yours and Gregor's. And your cunning. She's also got that handy soldier by her side. He'd do anything for her. Nearly caught my men when they stole her research for the immunity serum." He frowned.

"How did he find her?" Ava asked. "This super soldier?" She'd read all about the Super Soldier Serum of course. They'd loosely based their research on it. It seemed ironic that their daughter would find herself in his company.

"Well, turns out your daughter works for SHIELD now. They're the ones who found the Captain."

Ava shut her eyes for a moment. Of course Aspen had ended up working for SHIELD. As long as she wasn't anywhere near Joseph Danners. She'd heard news of his death. She'd wanted to come find her then and there, but fate hadn't turned in her favor for a long while.

"Well, let's not dwell on that. Back to work." He motioned with the gun for her to leave the room. She led him back down the hall and to her lab. "Get that formula working, or I'll make sure Aspen comes here under…_painful_ circumstances," he told her before locking the door and leaving her alone. Ava's hands were trembling when she turned to her work. She had stalled for a long time and paid the price. Gregor's disappearance had been the last punishment. She feared what would be next if she kept refusing. The only thing she feared more was what would happen if she _did_ complete the serum. She could only imagine the chaos it could cause in the wrong hands. _His_ hands. Now was the time that she really had to ask herself just how far she would go to protect her family, her daughter, her husband. With a sigh, she slumped against the worktable, utterly defeated. She knew she would go to any lengths and that involved putting one of the most dangerous weapons into the hands of a madman. She gave a shuddering breath and began her work, this time leaving out the errors she usually made on purpose. This time she would complete it to save her family.

**End of Story One**

**Aspen and Steve's story continues in _A Game of Enemies_.**


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